Russian billionaires see wealth rise to over half a trillion dollars

Russia has 110 official billionaires, which is an additional 22 tycoons from last year.

MOSCOW: Russia’s richest people added US$152 billion to their wealth over the past year, buoyed by high prices for natural resources and rebounding from the huge loss of fortunes they experienced just after the Ukraine war began, Forbes Russia said.

Russia has 110 official billionaires in the list, up 22 from last year, according to Forbes’ Russian edition, which said their total wealth increased to US$505 billion from US$353 billion when the 2022 list was announced.

The list would have been longer had not five billionaires – DST Global founder Yuri Milner, Revolut founder Nikolay Storonsky, Freedom Finance founder Timur Turlov, and JetBrains co-founders Sergei Dmitriev and Valentin Kipyatkov – renounced their Russian citizenship, Forbes said.

“Last year’s rating results were also influenced by apocalyptic predictions about the Russian economy,” Forbes said, adding that the total wealth of Russia’s billionaires was US$606 billion in 2021, before the war began.

After President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on Feb 24 last year, the West imposed what it casts as the most severe sanctions in modern history on Russia’s economy – and some of its richest people – in an attempt to punish Putin for the war.

Putin said the West was trying to destroy Russia and has repeatedly touted the failure of Western sanctions to destroy the Russian economy, or even stop Western luxury goods – let alone basic parts – from ending up in Russia.

Russia’s economy shrank 2.1% in 2022 under the pressure of Western sanctions, but it was able to sell oil, metals and other natural resources to global markets, in particular to China, India and the Middle East.

The International Monetary Fund this month raised its forecast for Russian growth in 2023 to 0.7% from 0.3%, but lowered its 2024 forecast to 1.3% from 2.1%, saying it also expected labour shortages and the exodus of Western companies to harm the country’s economy.

The price of Urals oil, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, averaged US$76.09 per barrel in 2022, up from US$69 in 2021. Fertiliser prices were also high last year.

Andrei Melnichenko, who made a fortune in fertilisers, was listed as Russia’s richest man by Forbes with an estimated worth of US$25.2 billion, more than double what he was estimated to be worth last year. Melnichenko could not be reached for immediate comment on the Forbes ranking.

Vladimir Potanin, president and biggest shareholder of Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and refined nickel, was ranked as second richest in Russia with a fortune of US$23.7 billion. Potanin could not immediately be reached for comment on the Forbes ranking.

Vladimir Lisin, who controls steelmaker NLMK and was ranked last year as Russia’s richest man, was placed third in the Forbes Russia list with a fortune of US$22.1 billion. Lisin could not be immediately reached for comment on the Forbes ranking.

Many Russian billionaires cast Western sanctions as a clumsy, and even racist, tool.

Building fortunes as the Soviet Union crumbled, a small group of tycoons known as the oligarchs persuaded the Kremlin under late President Boris Yeltsin to give them control over some of the biggest oil and metals companies in the world.

The privatisation deals often propelled the tycoons into the league of the world’s super rich, earning them the enduring dislike of millions of impoverished Russians.

But under Putin, some of the original oligarchs, such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Boris Berezovsky, were stripped of their assets, which eventually ended up under the sway of state companies often run by former spies.

New Russian names in the Forbes list include billionaires who made their money in snacks, supermarkets, chemicals, building and pharmaceuticals, indicating that Russian domestic demand has remained strong despite the sanctions.

Link: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/...illion-dollars/

This post has been edited by MaybachS600: Apr 22 2023, 07:40 PM

Sanction Russian is just for show it seems. Ukraine gg.

inkambing asset freezing under freedom....
free money for weapon...

Thought Putin kill them mostly ?

Either poison or 14th floor.

Not CIA kill?

It just a ploy to fool the world.

No la putin was ill and later dead since the beginning of the war...

yeah increase of billionaires are fake nows

coz many are dead, Puting just make story to cover line

It even have a name “ Sudden Russian Death Syndrome".

It even have Wikipedia dedicate for it.

Kesian, Zelensky and Ukrainians kena played by US and Russia

How can they get more kaya one?

I thought nowadays world against russian?

So they muka show Cilaka Russiyat, but balakong they support Cyka cepat kayat?

cyka blyat yo.

I purposely Pesong wan.

Cyka Cepat Kaya.

Spawn money

Rather them spawn a few more Blonde amoi. Russian girl ganas yo, but sedap. I tasted once, dun dare taste again cos too shioks sked mind corrupted.

Russian stock exchange claim the company is worth so much
Forbes calculate net worth based on shareholdings x share price
et voila

question is, how trustworthy is the Moscow stock exchange right now