A daring businessman who has seen it all
Although Paul Max Waters has been a longtime character in Ukraine’s business and expat communities, my first encounter with him happened this Monday – and let me tell you, it was a meeting that left me in something like wonderment. From his seemingly endless business ventures and projects, to his long list of famous acquaintances, ranging from controversial Ukrainian tycoons to big-time lawyers and members of the Rolling Stones, to his wild encounters during the early days of capitalism in Ukraine, Paul has unbelievable stories to share. And his encyclopedic memory of names, dates and figures did nothing but amplify them.
He met me at a cafe wearing a low key white sweater and what appeared to be a blue L.L. Bean fishing vest. It was only a matter of minutes before he delved into tales of his activities in the country.
Paul came to Ukraine in Feb. 1992 and has been involved in a range of enterprises since. “You know we had six Versace shops in Kyiv before we had food in the mini-marts. It was so interesting!” Paul threw out there.
“Only Falk’s been here three days longer than me,” he laughed. “We were joking about that the other day.” Paul obviously has a well-developed social circle in Ukraine, and gotten acquainted with practically every person who has ever ventured to do business here. He seems to be so deep in the social network that he forgets that average newcomers to Kyiv like me have only a fraction of the social connections that he has. At this point, Paul had to stop and explain to me who he was talking about—Falk Nebiger, a longtime expat with interests in many different businesses around Kyiv, including several restaurant ventures, like the Mister Snack fast food chain.
At this point he gestured down the street and told me that all the expats used to meet at a restaurant called Karambol for beer and pool back in the day. “We kept telling everybody how bad it was for 10 years, so people didn’t come here, because it was so good,” he grinned.
During the early years, one of his most profitable ventures was scrap metal trading. “One year we did 51 ship exports – more than anyone else in Ukraine ever – nobody ever came close,” he boasted. But scrap metal exporting is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Paul’s business ventures, which mostly entail, but are not limited to, international trade – he even imported the first Harley Davidson motorcycle to Ukraine.
“My family’s been involved in international trading non-stop for 514 years,” Paul states matter-of-factly. As Paul explained, he comes from a long line of international traders – with a known genealogical history that goes all the way back to 1494, when members of the Waters clan started selling indentured servants to Holland. Paul pointed out that he was the black sheep of the family for awhile, but ultimately found himself drawn into the family business and thinks it must be in their blood.
Once again stunning me with his encyclopedic memory, Paul told me his family has also been in the oil business since 1936, when his grandfather drilled his first oil well in Texas. He even had – or attempted, to be accurate – some dealings with oil during his years in Ukraine. “I came over [to Ukraine] and I said, ‘I can bring oil,’ and my partner said, ‘the Russians will kill you man, don’t even think about it!”
Currently, Paul says he’s focusing his energies on two computer companies that he’s started, one called Live Repair, that works from its eponymous website, liverepair.com, fixing computers through the internet. The second one is called LST (Laboratory of Security Technologies). They have a Washington DC headquarters called GBS labs.
He started the computer ventures with a longtime Ukrainian partner who used to work with him in the scrap metals business. As it turned out, his partner Alexey, was also a computer genius.
If Paul wasn’t in Kyiv, he would probably be back in California, where he was born and raised, and now co-owns a yacht with his son that is sitting in Marina Del Ray. “If I wasn’t here, I’d be sitting on the back of that damn boat, scratching my butt and fishing, going sailing once in awhile, maybe making it down to Catalina once in awhile,” Paul said. But, he really considers Kyiv his home now.
As it turned out, Paul was born on Aug. 13, 1942. “I was conceived on Pearl Harbor Day, I say thank God to the Japanese for bombing Pearl Harbor. My young 18-year-old mother and 18-year-old father said ‘Let’s get it on, we’re going to war!” Paul laughs.
I was so consumed by the tales Paul was telling me that at the time we were meeting, I didn’t even realize it was Paul’s birthday. Well, Paul, now that I have finally had the opportunity to absorb all the information you gave me – “Happy Birthday!”
