Catering to Russia’s Growing List of Millionaires
John Bonar
Inna Iranyi is the petit dynamo who drives Shorex wealth management events and exhibitions in Moscow, Geneva and Shanghai. Shorex, a British registered company owned by Ms Iranyi, her sister and brother-in-law has been staging high profile wealth management events for Russian High Net Worth Individuals and their advisers since 1996.
 “Russia is producing millionaires faster than anywhere in the world,” contends Ms Iranyi. She points to the Forbes 500 list of world billionaires where 17 Russians have entered since 2000. “New money, unlike old money, has a tendency for high spending,” she says.
She estimates there are 150,000 High Net Worth Individuals in Moscow, and they are fueling a demand for luxury products and services. Thanks to Russia’s booming economy more and more are joining the wealthy elite all the time.
Extravaganza, the luxury goods fair Shorex has been running since 2003 is, judging by the repeat exhibitors coming year after year, the most successful event of its kind in town. Ms. Iranyi points to the experience of Harris Estates an exclusive London realty agency which has sold and rented properties here through the exhibition. “So far their most valuable deal has been a GBP 17 million London home.”
Extravaganza 2006, the fourth since 2003 will take place 26 to 28 October 2006 and this year will take over the Manezh, near the National Hotel, where Ms Iranyi habitually stays when visiting her native Moscow from London.
“You can’t beat the Manezh. It is the best venue in town,” she told Passport. “It’s a magnificent venue, and makes a lot of difference in terms of convenience.”
Among the goods and services the event will showcase are fine jewelry and watches, luxury cars, luxury holidays, prestige properties, wealth management services, haute couture, interior designs, jets and yachts.
While Shorex rigorously vets its exhibitors, sometimes asking for products to be submitted for assessment before an exhibitor is accepted, it is just as demanding of its attendees. “This is a worthy business event,” Ms. Iranyi said during an interview. “It is invitation only. You can’t just pay your $20 at the door and become a millionaire overnight.”
 This year, departing from traditions of the first three, the one day conference on October 27th will be designated the CEO Summit, and while there will be a session on modern CEO lifestyle management, the main focus is going to be on Russian upcoming IPO’s and will include a senior ABN Amro banking figure covering the topic of raising Russian-specific capital.
Delegations from Chelyabinsk, Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Tatarstan and Kazakhstan are scheduled to attend.
While the organizers are not talking, high profile business celebrities from the UK are also anticipated to participate.
“This is not an entertainment show; it’s not a get together for show-offs. It is a valuable working business event,” Ms. Iranyi said.
The CEO of Shorex is Russian, starting her first fashion business in 1987 while a student. In 1992, after completing her studies she relocated to the UK and started exporting fashion to Russian ladies. In 1996 she started Shorex with her partners. The company is now the leaders in wealth management events worldwide with Geneva, London, Monaco, Paris and Toronto all on the corporate c.v. “We even ran a wealth management event on Punte del Este, Uruguay, how to save and invest. In 2003 we decided, ‘Enough saving. Now it’s time to spend”. We are now focusing on the ultra luxury for extremely High Net Worth individuals.”
Shorex now concentrates on three main events a year. In June they run Extravaganza Exhibition and a wealth management conference in Shanghai. Early December they run the annual Wealth Management Forum, sponsored by Credit Suisse in Geneva. In between there is the Extravaganza fair in Moscow with associated conference.
For more information visit www.extravaganza.ru
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