Nikolay Storonsky | |
|---|---|
Никола́й Никола́евич Сторо́нский | |
 Storonsky during the opening day of Web Summit at Altice Arena in Lisbon | |
| Born | 21 July 1984 |
| Other names | Nik Storonsky |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Father | Nikolay Mironovich Storonsky |
Nikolay Storonsky (born 21 July 1984) is a British tech billionaire of Russian origin. [1] [2] He is the co-founder and CEO of Revolut, and the founder of venture-capital firm QuantumLight.
Storonsky was born on 21 July 1984 [3] in Dolgoprudny, a town located about 20 kilometers North of Moscow's city centre.
As a child, Storonsky boxed and swam, becoming a state champion later at his university. He is a kite surfer and a mountaineer in his free time. He started reading books on economics and business when he was six. [4] [5]
His father, Nikolay Mironovich Storonsky, [6] has been deputy general director of science and since 2019 he became CEO of the company Gazprom Promgaz, fully controlled gas firm by Russian government. Against him the Ukrainian government imposed sanctions on October 2022.
He completed his master's degree in general and applied physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. [7] He graduated with another master's in applied economics and finance at New Economic School in Moscow. [7]
Storonsky started his career as an equity derivatives trader at Lehman Brothers from 2006 to 2008, and later moved on to work at Credit Suisse where he continued until 2013. Storonsky moved to England in 2004 and later acquired British citizenship.
Alongside Vladyslav Yatsenko, former Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank developer, and Tom Reay, former developer at Expedia and Ocado, Storonsky set up Revolut and raised around $3.5 million [8] [9] [10]
The idea of the company came when, while travelling, he experienced the transaction fees and commissions levied by banks. [11] His first idea was a multi-currency bank card that would allow currency conversion while traveling at a favorable rate. [12]
The Revolut platform allows travellers to spend in over 90 countries. [13] Revolut offers accounts and debit cards for fee-free spending abroad at real exchange rates. [14]
In 2021, Revolut became the most valuable fintech firm in the UK. [15] [16] As of November 2024, the company has 50 million customers globally and more than 10,000 employees. The company is valued at $45 billion as of August 2024. [17] [18] [19]
In 2022, Storonsky launched QuantumLight, a venture capital firm. QuantumLight developed a proprietary AI system named “Aleph”, to identify promising investment opportunities. [20]
Storonsky’s family office has been quietly building a network of high-end vacation properties around the world as part of plans for a new luxury travel business named “Utopia Design”. Utopia was also involved in the rebuilding of Storonsky’s West London mansion, according to sources involved in the project. The tech billionaire bought the property for $25 million with the help of a loan from Credit Suisse in 2019, according to Forbes. [21]
Storonsky made the 2022 Forbes Billionaires List with an estimated wealth of $7.1 billion and occupied the 336th position. [16] Welp Magazine named him in the lists: '101 UK Founder & CEO’s To Follow in 2022' and '101 UK CEO’s To Follow in 2022'. [22] [23] He made the list of Time100 Next 2024 published by the Time Magazine. [24]
In 2016, a former Revolut employee made a whistleblowing disclosure to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) alleging serious deficiencies in the firm’s anti-money-laundering and sanctions-screening controls and asserting that chief executive Nikolay Storonsky personally directed or tolerated these practices - including, allegedly, allowing reduced checks for select customers and overruling compliance warnings. Several former employees cited in subsequent reporting likewise described recurring clashes with Storonsky over compliance and claimed his decisions sidelined the compliance function. The FCA conducted enquiries and said it required Revolut to take specific actions. Revolut stated it had not previously been aware of the complaint and denied that Storonsky ignored compliance advice, saying its procedures were overseen by an executive risk committee. In 2018, separate reports said a sanctions-screening system was changed so potential matches were flagged for review but not automatically blocked; a draft letter to the FCA describing the change was later leaked. [25]
Storonsky and his company Revolut are actively seeking banking licenses in various countries, including the UK and the France. [26] Delays in obtaining a license in the UK may be due to the need to demonstrate a sufficient level of protection against money laundering and fraud, as well as the fact that, against the backdrop of events in 2022, Storonsky faced allegations of ties to the Kremlin, because his father became an executive director of Gazprom Promgaz, fully controlled gas firm by Russian government. Later allegations were dropped after an investigation. [27] In February 2022, Storonsky reached out to UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak to find out why the license was taking so long, according to Bloomberg. As of 2025, Revolut had already obtained a UK banking license with restrictions. [28] [29]
Storonsky is married.[ citation needed ] He condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine [30] and renounced his Russian citizenship. [31] In an open letter, he also pledged that Revolut will match for a limited time every donation made to the Red Cross in solidarity with victims of the war. [32]
In October 2025, it was reported that Storonsky moved his residency from the UK to the United Arab Emirates. [33]