Who are the entrepreneurs rich From Russia? The most powerful man, without a doubt, is Vladimir Putin, although he is not officially listed as the richest man in his country. The war he is leading against Ukraine has been hitting not only the Eastern European country, but his own home, as the sanctions imposed by the international community have unleashed an economic crisis that has caused Russian businessmen to lose exorbitant amounts of money.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been affecting Russian billionaires. On February 24, Russia’s Moex index closed down 33%, while the ruble (the Russian currency) hit a record low against the dollar. Thus, only that day, the fortune of 116 Russian billionaires was reduced by almost US $ 40,000 million, but since February 16 they have lost almost US $ 90,000 million, indicates Bloomberg.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 21 richest people in the country have lost about $84 billion so far this year alone. Below are the top five of the richest people in Russia, according to Bloomberg, but this list does not include Vladimir Putin, who would have amassed a large fortune, which includes luxury properties and accounts in tax havens, which do not match his salary. President.
WHO ARE THE RICHEST MEN IN RUSSIA?
1. Vladimir Potanin
Fortune:$25.2 billion
Vladimir Potanin he is officially the richest man in Russia. He made his fortune through the Onexim Bank company, which he founded in 1993. In addition, in 1995, he acquired a share in the nickel and palladium mining and smelting company Norilsk Nickel. He now owns a third of the company. The businessman also has shares in Petrovax Pharm and the Rosa Khutor ski resort. He has also dabbled in politics: between 1996 and 1997, he served as the first deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation.
2. Aleksey Mordashov
Fortune: $22 billion
Alexei Mordashov He is the majority shareholder and president of the steel and mining company, Severstal. He also has around 30% of the shares in the German-based travel company TUI Group.
His company was one of those that received sanctions from the European Union after the invasion of Russia and, in response, Mordashov said that he did not understand why the EU sanctioned him, emphasizing that he had “absolutely nothing to do” with the Russia’s conflict with Ukraine and called for the bloodshed to stop. According Forbes, he had a fortune valued at US$29.1 billion in 2021 and was on the list of the 100 richest men in the world. Given the situation, the tycoon has chosen to remove his company from the stock market.
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3. Leonid Mikhelson
Fortune: $22 billion
Leonid Michaelson be an entrepreneur multimillionaire Russian, CEO, president and main shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek, where it owns a 25% stake. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mikhelson took a stake in a privatized pipeline construction company from which he formed Novatek.
He also holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZAO SIBUR, a petrochemical and gas processing company operating 26 production sites throughout Russia, headquartered in Moscow. In this company he owns a 57.5% stake. He is a business partner of the Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko a close confidant of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin .
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4. Vladimir Lisin
Fortune: $21.2 billion
Vladimir Lisin he is the president of Russia’s largest steel company, Novolipetsk Steel, one of the four largest steel companies in Russia. He first got a job in 1975 working as a mechanic in a Soviet coal mine, and after studying at the Siberian Metallurgical Institute he got a job as a welding foreman at Tulachermet Metals Works. In 1992, he joined a group of traders known as the Trans-World Group, which gained control of Russia’s steel and aluminum industry and subsequently split in 2000. Lisin became the majority shareholder of the company, which is now known as Novolipetsk Steel. He also has investments in other sectors such as energy, transportation, logistics and public services.
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5. Andrei Melnichenko
Fortune: $20 billion
Andrei Melnichenko, At 49, he is the largest shareholder in fertilizer producer EuroChem. In addition to EuroChem, he owns the majority of Suek, Russia’s largest thermal coal supplier, and has a stake in Russian power distributor Rossetti Siberia. He has 92.2% of the company’s shares. According to the media, he is one of Russia’s leading social investors and philanthropists.
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