While we read Kiyosaki and Carnegie — there is a more breathtaking Ukrainian success story you have almost certainly never heard of
Don’t whine, don’t complain — work, and through good deeds lift the Ukrainian name in the world.
— Petro Yatsyk, multimillionaire & philanthropist
Our bookshelves are overflowing with Robert Kiyosaki, Dale Carnegie, and Napoleon Hill. We follow every detail of Henry Ford’s, Steve Jobs’s, and Elon Musk’s lives. Yet there is a Ukrainian figure whose path is more breathtaking than any of them — and whose name most Ukrainians barely know.
His name is Petro Yatsyk. Born into a poor peasant family in Lviv region, he survived Polish, Soviet, and German occupations, arrived in Canada with just $7 in his pocket — and built a multimillion-dollar fortune, becoming one of the most significant Ukrainian philanthropists of the 20th century.
From Nothing to Millions: A Path Without Connections or Corruption
Petro Yatsyk was born on July 7, 1921. His father was illiterate; his mother completed only three years of school. When Petro’s father died while Petro was still a teenager, the responsibility for a family of seven children fell entirely on his shoulders.
During World War II, he refused to join the Komsomol — closing off any career advancement. By day he worked at a dairy plant; by night he supported UPA fighters. When Soviet power returned in 1944, he understood immediately: to stay meant arrest. He fled west.
In 1947, he landed in Canada with seven dollars. Two went to a taxi, five to rent a room with a fellow Ukrainian. He found work the same day — washing dishes in a restaurant.
His business journey: dishwasher → meat cutter → dairy worker → Ukrainian bookstore → furniture store → construction → President of Proban Investment Limited → multimillionaire.
Why We Stay Poor — and What to Do About It
Yatsyk did not offer comforting advice. His view of the Ukrainian mentality was sharp and uncomfortable. That is precisely what makes his words invaluable.
- Fear of risk is our greatest brake. The biggest obstacle for Ukrainian entrepreneurs is not the lack of money — it is the inability to take risks.
- Money is a tool, not a goal. He thought of money as a resource to invest in something greater — education, culture, the nation.
- Reputation above all else. “If I do the right thing, no one will remember it. If I do the wrong thing, no one will ever forget it.”
- Ukrainians cannot unite. He knew of no joint Ukrainian enterprise in the diaspora that functioned stably and stood on its own feet.
- Politics without economics is empty talk. Revolutions bring blood and ruin. Only reform and entrepreneurship build a country.
The Philanthropist Who Chose Universities Over Churches
Yatsyk did something no one before him had done: instead of funding new churches, he invested in science and knowledge. He financed the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, translations of Hrushevsky’s works into English, and Ukrainian academic programs at universities worldwide.
The Ukrainian diaspora spent $482 million on churches over 35 years — and only $5 million on university scholarship. Yatsyk considered this a tragic mistake that had to be corrected.
In 1999, he founded the Petro Yatsyk International Ukrainian Language Competition — which continues to this day. Standing before the first competition’s winners at the National Philharmonic in Kyiv in 2001, he could not hold back his tears.
Prophecies That Ring True Today
There are only two ways to change Ukraine. The first is revolution — a sea of blood and destruction. The second is reform. It is long and difficult, but it is the only civilised path.
— Petro Yatsyk
He said this before Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. Ukraine has since lived through at least two revolutions — and is still searching for the answer to the question Yatsyk posed half a century ago.
Mykhailo Slaboshpytsky’s book “The Ukrainian Who Refused to Be Poor” is not another self-help rinse cycle from the business shelf. It is a living, painful, and inspiring document of an era — about a man whose path is more relevant today than ever before.