Kakha Kaladze - Business and Personal Life

Business and Personal Life

Kaladze was born in Samtredia, a Georgian town near the Black Sea. His father, Karlo, was a footballer for Lokomotiv Samtredia and was also president of the team at some point. At the age of 11, he played for his town's junior team. Kaladze is the owner of a restaurant called Giannino, founded in 1899 by Giannino Bindi, which is based in Milan. The restaurant has had a Michelin star under Davide Oldani.

In 2001, Kaladze's brother Levan, a medical student, was kidnapped in Georgia, with a ransom of $600,000 demanded. Georgia's president at the time, Eduard Shevardnadze promised "everything is being done to locate him", despite this the only time that Levan was ever seen was in a video where he was shown blindfolded and begging for help. Following the kidnapping, Kaladze threatened to take up Ukrainian citizenship, but reverted his decision stating, "There was a time when I thought about quitting the national side completely, but I couldn’t do it out of respect for the Georgian people and the fans who come and give us such support." Roughly four years later, on 6 May 2005, Georgian police officers found eight dead bodies in the Svaneti region and it was speculated that Levan was among the dead. 21 February 2006 was the date when Levan was officially identified among the deceased, after tests from FBI experts. The local media claimed that the ransom was paid by Kaladze's family although another source says that Kaladze's father attempted to meet the kidnappers, who fled as they believed he was followed by the police. Two men were sentenced to prison for the murder; David Asatiani for 25 years and Merab Amisulashvili for five years. On 14 July 2009, Kaladze's wife Anouki gave birth to their first born son in Milan. The couple named their son Levan, in memory of Kaladze's brother.

Along with his football career, Kaladze is also a successful businessman with investments in Georgia, Italy, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Another investment was the establishment of Kala Capital—a holding company which plans to target banking, real estate and energy sectors of the Georgian economy. Kaladze has also been active in charitable causes and is a FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages. In 2008, Kaladze founded the Kala Foundation, an organisation that focuses on the "ethical purpose of dedicating all efforts particularly in helping and sustaining people in need". Through the Kala Foundation, he raised €50,000 to benefit South Ossetian refugees during the conflict with Russia in 2008. Kaladze also plans to release an autobiography with the proceeds going to the Kala Foundation.