The fortune of Russia's richest people has grown to a record $696.5 billion - Forbes
Despite Western sanctions, Russian billionaires enriched themselves by a total of $71 billion over the year
The fortune of Russian billionaires increased by 11% over the year, to a record $696.5 billion, Forbes calculated. Alexei Mordashov topped the list / Photo: Akimov Igor / Shutterstock
The fortunes of Russian billionaires rose 11% or $71 billion over the past year to a record $696.5 billion, despite the war in Ukraine and harsh Western sanctions, according to Forbes Russia data.
Russia's richest people are linked to the export of natural resources, which the country has been supplying to global markets for decades, Reuters notes. Disruptions in global trade flows amid the war in the Middle East have supported commodity prices, which has boosted the capital of Russian billionaires. At the same time, according to Forbes, there were no new names at the top of the ranking of Russia's richest people over the past year.
Who made it into the Forbes ranking
Alexey Mordashov, CEO of the investment company Severgroup, tops the list of Russian billionaires, according to Forbes. According to Forbes, his fortune is estimated at $37 billion, which is $8.4 billion more than a year earlier.
In second place is Vladimir Potanin, head of the investment holding company Interros and metals producer Nornickel, with a fortune of $29.7 billion (his capital has increased by $5.5 billion compared to 2025).
The third position was taken by the former head of Lukoil, the current major shareholder of the oil and gas company Vagit Alekperov ($29.5 billion), the fourth - the head of Novatek Leonid Mikhelson, whose fortune, including family assets, is estimated at $28.3 billion: part of the shares in key assets, including Novatek, are registered to family members - in particular, in 2023 he gave his daughter 2.3% of the company's shares.
Context
Despite enrichment over the past year, the fortunes of Russian billionaires, many of whom earned their main capital in the period after the collapse of the USSR, are now significantly inferior to entrepreneurs from the United States, notes Reuters. Thus, Forbes' global ranking of billionaires is headed by Elon Musk with a fortune of $839 billion, followed by Google co-founder Larry Page with $257 billion.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
