Quick Facts
Biography
Count Elim Pavlovich Demidov, 3rd Prince of San Donato (Russian: Елим Павлович Демидов; 6 August (20 June, per Ferrand) 1868, Hietzing suburb of Vienna – 28 March 1943, Athens) of the Demidov industrial family, was the Russian Empire's last ambassador to Greece, where he and his wife remained in exile and him as White Russian ambassador.
Life
Elim Demidov was the son of Princess Maria Meshcherskaya and Pavel Pavlovitch Demidov, 2nd Prince of San Donato. His mother, descended from indigenous princes of the Finnic peoples of Meshchera and Mordovia, died two days after his birth, whilst Elim's paternal grandmother was the Finnish beauty and philanthropist lady Aurora Stjernvall. His father died when young Elim was just 18 years old.
In Saint Petersburg on 18 April 1893 he married Countess Sophia Hilarionovna Vorontsova-Dashkova (Novo Temnikovo, 9 August 1870 - Athens, 16 April 1953), by whom he had no issue.
Speculating in 1895 about the richest man on earth, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that "the wealth of Elim Demidoff is beyond calculation.".
In early 20th century, Emperor Nicholas II sent prince Elim as the Russian ambassador to the Greek court.
His Greek connections played a role when he arranged his nephew Prince Paul of Yugoslavia to marry Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark in 1923.