Bidzina Ivanishvili is a portrait in contrasts. Born to a poor family in rural Georgia, he is now the country's wealthiest man, worth an estimated $6.5 billion. Shy and retiring, he has nonetheless thrown himself into the maelstrom of politics, forming the Georgian Dream opposition coalition that is proving the first viable threat to Mikheil Saakashvili's regime since the 2003 Rose Revolution. RFE/RL looks back at the life of Georgia's newest political player.
From Rags to Riches -- And Now, Reins of Power?
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Bidzina Ivanishvili (front row, second from right) around the age of four with his family in the village of Chorvila, Imereti, where he was born on February 18, 1953.
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Ivanishvili, seen here in an undated photo, graduated from high school in Sachkhere.
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Ivanishvili (right) studied engineering and economics at Tbilisi State University.
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Ivanishvili and Eka Khvedelidze at their wedding in Svetitskhoveli, on October 19, 1991.
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Ivanishvili and his wife, Eka Khvedelidze, in an undated photo.
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Ivanishvili with one of his sons
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The couple with one of their four children
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Ivanishvili's mother joins a birthday celebration.
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The Ivanishvili family at their home in Tbilisi: the children, from oldest to youngest, are Uta, Bera, Gvansa, and Tsotne.
