Revolut founder Nik Storonsky cashes in – what's next for the fintech billionaire?
Nik Storonsky has shaken up the banking industry with Revolut. He is now preparing a new project that could do the same to the venture capital sector
Revolut’s founder Nik Storonsky is cashing in. He plans to offload a small proportion of his stake as part of an imminent secondary share sale that could value the outfit he co-founded in 2015 at $40 billion, says Sky, cementing its status as the UK’s most valuable start-up.
The deal may alleviate some of the frustration over the continued delay in being granted a UK banking licence. Despite growing at breakneck speed (Revolut now has 40 million customers), and notching up a record £438 million in profits last year on sales that nearly doubled to £1.8 billion, that crucial piece of paper remains elusive. Three years after Revolut applied for the licence – which would open the door to new income streams – UK regulators continue to pull in their horns.
Among the hurdles were reports last year highlighting the “release of funds from accounts flagged by the National Crime Agency as suspicious”. Storonksy, 40, finds it hard to contain his irritation with British politicians and regulators. Last year he threatened to take what would be a landmark flotation for the London Stock Exchange elsewhere. It may not have helped that his father is a director of a subsidiary of the sanctioned Russian gas giant, Gazprom. Storonsky, who has held British citizenship since 2004, renounced his Russian “birth” citizenship in October 2022 and has roundly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, says Bloomberg. Perhaps for some, that wasn’t enough.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Born in 1984 in Dolgoprudny, a town 20 kilometres north of Moscow, during the dying years of the old Soviet Union, Storonsky grew up in a Russia that was embracing “Western-style democracy and a free-market economy”, says Fintech Magazine. Like his father, he excelled at science, taking a masters degree in physics at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and adding a second one in economics. As well as being a brilliant student, he was “a keen athlete” – a state champion swimmer who also took boxing lessons. He’s still “an avid kite surfer” who enjoys the adrenaline rush.
Nik Storonsky and Revolut's boom
Aged 20 Storonsky moved to London, landing a trading job with Lehman Brothers before jumping ship to Credit Suisse when the Wall Street investment bank collapsed in 2007. The long hours shaped his unforgiving work ethic, but he found banking bureaucracy stifling, once observing that “if you fired 80% of bankers, nothing would change”.
Inspired by the example of “the new digital neobank start-ups” emerging in Asia, he left to found Revolut in 2015 with Vladyslav Yatsenko, a British-Ukrainian software developer. The plan, says Reuters, was to undercut mainstream lenders with a mobile app offering travellers fee-free foreign exchange – and then convert them into daily users with products ranging from stock and crypto trading to daily budget management.
As a much-hyped tech “challenger” bank, Revolut grew fast – expanding into Europe via a bridgehead in Lithuania, where it was granted an EU banking licence in 2021. The same year, a funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank and Tiger Global Management saw the group hit a valuation of $33 billion – eclipsing NatWest’s.
The firm had a ferocious work ethic – Wired Magazine published an internal email from Storonsky warning that underperformers would be “fired without any negotiations”. Indeed, in its quest to gain a banking licence, Revolut has proved a revolving door for a host of risk and compliance officers, notes the BBC. Now Storonsky has embarked on a new venture, says Fortune – a quantitative investment firm for early-stage firms that uses algorithms and AI to source deals. Having disrupted banking so effectively, he is “looking to pull off a similar feat in venture capital” with his Quantumlight fund.
This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Jane writes profiles for MoneyWeek and is city editor of The Week. A former British Society of Magazine Editors editor of the year, she cut her teeth in journalism editing The Daily Telegraph’s Letters page and writing gossip for the London Evening Standard – while contributing to a kaleidoscopic range of business magazines including Personnel Today, Edge, Microscope, Computing, PC Business World, and Business & Finance.
She has edited corporate publications for accountants BDO, business psychologists YSC Consulting, and the law firm Stephenson Harwood – also enjoying a stint as a researcher for the due diligence department of a global risk advisory firm.
Her sole book to date, Stay or Go? (2016), rehearsed the arguments on both sides of the EU referendum.
She lives in north London, has a degree in modern history from Trinity College, Oxford, and is currently learning to play the drums.
-
A luxurious haven: Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita
The Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita is close to paradise
By Vaishali Varu Published
-
Managing your money in retirement - 5 golden rules to follow to avoid a shortfall
We look at the cash strategy you need to follow to manage your money in retirement, after research shows more than a third of retirees overspend
By Kalpana Fitzpatrick Published
-
Indonesia’s new $30 billion capital city is hit by 'delays'
What is causing the delays in Indonesia’s new capital city and when will it be complete?
By Stuart Watkins Published
-
Bill Gates: from hero to villain and back again
Bill Gates was a tech billionaire at 31. Then he was knocked down for ruthless business practices – and hailed again for his philanthropy. Who is the real Bill Gates?
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Jeff Yass: the poker player betting on Trump
Jeff Yass is a professional gambler who built one of Wall Street’s most powerful trading operations and is backing Donald Trump for president. What’s in it for him?
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Michele Kang: the first tycoon of women’s football
Michele Kang made her fortune in healthcare IT. Then, in 2019, she became interested in football. Her sports empire now consists of clubs around the globe.
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Billionaire entrepreneur Brian Kim arrested over K-pop stock manipulation
Brian Kim caught the wave that propelled Korean pop stars and actors to global stardom. Now accused of financial wrongdoing, he is in for the fight of his life.
By Jane Lewis Last updated
-
Maduro clings to power in Venezuela – can he last?
While Maduro clung to his presidential seat, Venezuela's election protests paint a different picture
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
Andy Murray: what's next for the British tennis great?
Andy Murray will finally hang up his racket after the Paris Olympics after an extraordinary comeback. What lies ahead for the three-time Grand Slam winner?
By Jane Lewis Published
-
How J.D. Vance became Donald Trump's running mate
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, has a knack for adapting and playing any role to perfection, even as Trump's right-hand man
By Jane Lewis Published