Abramovich gives a beggar a thousand

By WILL STEWART, The Mail on Sunday

Last updated at 22:55 09 September 2006


One is the 11th richest man in the world, worth an estimated £10.8 billion. The other is a woman, clutching a baby and begging on the grim streets of Moscow.

And when she approached Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, last week, she came away with a 1,000 rouble note.

But the money did not come from Mr Abramovich's own pocket - reports say that he, like the Queen, is actually too rich to carry cash.

Instead, he had to be bailed out by an official of the Russian Football Federation who spared Mr Abramovich's blushes by pulling out the 1,000 rouble note and handing it over.

Then Mr Abramovich walked on, shaking his head and smiling to himself at his generosity as he got into his waiting limousine.

Not that his gift will have dented his fortune - it equates to £20, or just 0.0000001852 per cent of his worth.

Mr Abramovich had looked nonplussed as the woman, whose identity is not known, got past his security people to approach him after he left a five-star hotel.

He had been in a meeting with Russian team manager Gus Hiddink, the man whose salary Mr Abramovich pays and who had been tipped as a future Chelsea manager if Jose Mourinho fails to deliver.

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