The number of Russia’s richest billionaires rose in 2023 despite Western sanctions to limit funding for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, according to a ranking Forbes of the planet’s richest billionaires, published on Wednesday, it says Moscow Times. Andriy Melnichenko became the richest Russian billionaire for the first time.
The total wealth of Russian billionaires increased from $353 billion in 2022 to $505 billion in 2023, with an average increase of $600 million per person.
Meanwhile, the number of super-rich Russians — those with a net worth of more than $1 billion — rose to 110, with the list expanding by 22 from last year.
According to Forbes, this number could have been even higher if five billionaires had not renounced their Russian citizenship last year.
The number of wealthy Russians appears to be growing, despite heavy Western sanctions and Russia’s troubled economy.
However, in 2022, prices for basic goods, which are a key factor in the fortunes of the richest Russian oligarchs, will remain high.
One of the reasons for the staggering increase in the fortunes of the richest Russians, according to Forbes, was that the 2022 list was compiled immediately after the invasion of Ukraine, amid panic in the market and dire forecasts for the Russian economy.
Andriy Melnichenko became the richest Russian billionaire in 2023
1. According to Forbes, Andriy Melnichenko, the founder of the fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and the coal-fired power company SUEK, became the richest Russian for the first time, whose fortune reached $25.2 billion.
2. In second place was nickel and banking magnate Volodymyr Potantin, whose fortune rebounded to $23.7 billion after a $9.7 billion drop last year.
3. In third place is Volodymyr Lisin, who heads the NLMK Group, the largest Russian producer of metal products, with $22.1 billion.
Of the 110 Russians on the list of the richest billionaires in 2023, 46 are currently under sanctions by the United States, Great Britain and the European Union.
While the fortunes of Potanin and Lisin have not returned to pre-war levels, Melnichenko is much richer than before the start of the conflict.
According to Forbes, Melnichenko was able to increase his fortune thanks to the increase in fertilizer prices amid the war in Ukraine.
In the list of the richest Russian billionaires in 2023, there could be 115 people instead of 110, instead, five oligarchs renounced their citizenship: Yuriy Milner (DST Funds), Mykola Storonsky (Revolut), Timur Turlov (Freedom Finance) and co-founders of JetBrains. Sergey Dmitriev and Valentin Kipyatkov.
Mykola Storonsky criticized Russia’s war in Ukraine and renounced his citizenship in October 2022.
The complete list of the richest Russian billionaires can be seen on the Forbes website.
Source: Hot News
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