A former Soviet army officer, Lutsenko joined the ranks of billionaires after founding the agro-industrial Sodrugestvo Group, along wife Natalia. With terminals in Kaliningrad (Baltic Sea), as well as railcar stock and processing plants in Russia, Brazil and Denmark, the group specializes in fodder production and import of raw products from Brazil. As of January 2012, a 10% stake in the company was acquired by a Japanese trader, Mitsui & Co. Alexander Lutsenko has also been cited as being awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation title.
