Boris Jordan, Chairman of Curaleaf and the first cannabis billionaire

According to calculations by Forbes, Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan is the first and only person to have made $1 billion from the legal cannabis industry. Jordan holds a 31% stake in Curaleaf, which is valued at $1.1 billion.

Curaleaf is the sixth-largest cannabis company in the world and the largest in the United States in terms of market capitalization. It owns and operates 48 medical cannabis dispensaries in 12 states. In May, Curaleaf announced the acquisition of Cura Partners, owner of the Select cannabis brand, as part of a $1 billion all-stock deal. In the United States, Select is sold at more than 900 retailers, particularly in states where Curaleaf does not have a presence, such as Illinois, which has become the The 11th U.S. state to legalize cannabis last June.

In July, the company announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Grassroots, a vertically integrated, multi-state operator, for $875 million in cash and stock. Once the deal is finalized, the company will become the world’s largest cannabis company in terms of revenue.

Jordan also founded Measure 8 Venture Partners, a cannabis industry investment firm, which announced in May its intention to raise $100 million for the fund. According to the report, Measure 8 held approximately 12% of Cura Partners, making it a «multiple bagger.».

Boris Jordan is best known for privatizing Russian state assets as head of Credit Suisse’s investment banking division, First Boston, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Curaleaf Holdings Inc. spent 200,000 $ on lobbying efforts with the federal government during the last quarter, more than any other cannabis producer.

Jordan is also chairman of the private equity firm Sputnik Group, which invests in Europe and Russia, and of the Russian company Renaissance Insurance, one of Russia's largest insurance companies.