Russello "Rusty" Montoro
Russello "Rusty" Montoro, known to all as Rusty, is the CEO of the Rizian Royal Gold corporation and the wealthiest commoner in the country. Few concrete facts are known about his provenance and upbringing. He claims to have been born into an impoverished family in Malcos, an industrial area in southern Rizia Imperii; however, interviews have surfaced in which he admits to having had a middle-class childhood in the Porte Drazon suburbs. Halfway through his studies at Toras Imperial University, he accepted an internship at the Argno branch of Rizian Royal Gold in southwestern Brenas. Within a year, he became a junior mine supervisor, dropping out of college to further his career. His rapid ascent within the ranks of RRG was marked by a combination of sharp business acumen and relentless ambition, as well as fortuitous connections and decisions that some have labeled as ethically questionable. He took over the company in 1935 after engineering a vote of no confidence in the prior CEO. His first act as chief executive was to secure a board majority to file a retroactive lawsuit against the Rizian government for loss of revenue in Zille, which had been handed over to Wehlen eight years previously. He is known to have many connections with high-ranking politicians and businesspeople, both within Rizia and beyond. Aside from gold, he has made substantial investments in finance, technology and energy; he is also the chair of the Heart of Gold Foundation, a philanthropic organization that provides scholarships and mentorships to children from low-income backgrounds. He has had a series of high-profile marriages and divorces, most recently with daytime television star Marcia Marzan.