Former Pornhub Owner and Austrian Bergmair Eyes Lukoil's Foreign Business Under US Sanctions
According to insiders, Austrian businessman Bernd Bergmair, known as the former majority owner of the porn platform Pornhub, is considering investing in the foreign holdings of Russian oil giant Lukoil.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil producer, to increase pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / NVO [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]
In response to U.S. sanctions forcing Lukoil to sell, the billionaire has approached the U.S. Treasury Department, according to Reuters. “Lukoil International GmbH would obviously be a great investment, and anyone would be lucky to own these assets,” Bergmair stated via a lawyer. The former Goldman Sachs banker declined to provide further details. The U.S. Treasury Department also declined to comment.
Sanctions and billions in assets
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil producer, in response to the war in Ukraine. These sanctions are intended to increase pressure on Moscow and force Lukoil to divest itself of its foreign assets.
Interest in these holdings has increased since the US Treasury Department gave companies the green light to negotiate with Lukoil. The negotiation permit is valid until December 13. Any purchase would also have to be approved by the department. Rumor has it that other heavyweights, such as ExxonMobil and Chevron, have also approached the U.S. authorities.
Lukoil International GmbH is the Vienna-based company that bundles all foreign business and comprises an extensive portfolio with refineries in Europe, shares in oil fields in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries. Based on documents from 2024, the assets were estimated at around $22 billion (just under €19 billion). According to a report, Lukoil International Holding GmbH has a net profit of €15 billion.
From porn to oil: Who is Bernd Bergmair?
Austrian Bernd Bergmair looks back on an unusual career. In the 1990s, he worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs in New York. He later became the majority owner of MindGeek, the parent company of websites such as Pornhub and YouPorn, until the company was sold to a Canadian investment company in 2023.
Based on previous estimates, his fortune is considered to be considerable, as reported by ORF. The Sunday Times Rich List estimated his fortune at at least £1.2 billion in 2021. Other sources put his fortune even higher, calling him one of the richest Austrians.
Given Lukoil International GmbH's billions in assets and the tight December 13 deadline for negotiations, it remains to be seen whether the former porn magnate will be able to enter the global oil business and obtain the necessary approval from Washington.