Roman Avdeev is a well-known banker and billionaire among the 100 richest people in the Forbes list.
But the main business of his life he considers not work, but his large family.
Roman and his wife have 23 babies, 17 of which are adopted.
The father of the family has built several mansions on his plot, where he has equipped playrooms for children, a cinema, a swimming pool and even a ski slope.
The father of many little ones very much regrets not being able to bring the whole family together: the little adults study abroad and therefore only return home during the long holidays.
Before deciding to adopt, Roman and his wife thought a lot and wondered if they could take on such a huge responsibility.
“My wife and I discussed at length: we can or we cannot. Because there was such a story – I helped orphanages for a long time, then I realized it wasn’t working.
The turning point came in one of the orphanages, where I was asked to equip the kitchen. I gladly accepted, as I fully understand how little ones need self-help skills.
After all, at the orphanage, the children eat in the canteen, and at 18, in fact, they don’t know how to do anything – neither peel potatoes, nor wash dishes, nor cook borscht. And such cooking is needed just to teach these simple skills,” Roman said.
Communication with the students of the orphanage made an indelible impression on the billionaire. The little ones did not even know what sugar looked like – in the dining room they were already given sweet compote and sweet porridge, so there was nowhere to see regular sugar.
“I then clearly saw what a gulf separates little servants and orphans, and that this gulf cannot be bridged by any material thing. At the orphanage, the children live in an invented system where everything is done and decided for them.
It’s easier for adults, but not for little ones. When they grow up and leave the walls of the orphanage, they find themselves face to face with a world totally incomprehensible to them.
And when I finally figured that out, I decided that I would definitely get the little ones out of this system. I am sure that only in a family can a whole person be brought up, and we must all strive to ensure that as few children as possible remain in orphanages, ”says Roman.
According to Roman, bad heredity can be overcome with good and correct upbringing. Roman is also happy to be so lucky with his wife. It is on his shoulders that domestic problems and housekeeping rest.
When the little Avdeevs were small, there were 11 helpers in the family. And when the little ones grew up, 8 people began to take care of them. Assistants take the little ones to school, help them with their homework and do some household chores.
When Roman has time, he does math with the little ones. Particular attention is paid to English which has become their second language.
