For some Russian emigrants, the forced move abroad became an opportunity to discover a vast world. This was also the case for the Cossack Old Believer Alexander Nikiforovich Vlasov. In the USA, he became a dollar billionaire and founded a large shipping company. Alexander was born into a well-off family, where his father was engaged in grain trading and earned well. However, Alexander Nikiforovich was initially not interested in commerce. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, returned to his native Odessa, and worked for a long time in the city administration.

After his father's death, Alexander had to engage in business, as there was no one else to run the affairs. Vlasov turned out to be a talented entrepreneur and significantly increased the inherited capital. In addition, Alexander Nikiforovich possessed outstanding analytical abilities. In February 1917, he quickly realized the direction in which the country was heading, urgently sold all assets, and emigrated to Romania. With a significant capital in hand, Vlasov invested in the transport company Prima, which was engaged in coal transportation across the Mediterranean Sea. Since then, shipping became his main business.

In 1933, Alexander Nikiforovich acquired several cargo ships and founded his own company, 'Vlasov Group.' After the war, the enterprising businessman bought European ships for a pittance, converted them for passenger transport, and signed a lucrative contract for transporting to the USA and South America people who did not want to return to the USSR. Subsequently, he even helped them settle in their new places for some time.

Later, Alexander Nikiforovich himself moved across the ocean and concentrated all his business in Los Angeles. The new company was named V.Ships, where V stands for Vlasov. In addition to cargo transportation, he also opened a cruise company. By the age of 60, the former employee of the Odessa city administration had become a dollar billionaire. After his death, his son continued the business. Today, V.Ships has branches in 33 countries and is valued at 5 billion dollars.