Fortunes of Russia’s richest grow – Bloomberg

The country’s tycoons have added over $28 billion to their wealth over the past year

The combined net worth of Russia’s wealthiest individuals has surged by $28 billion over the past 12 months, according to the updated Bloomberg Billionaires Index. A total of 22 Russian billionaires, collectively worth $317.7 billion, were listed among the world’s richest people as of Monday.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which ranks the world’s 500 richest individuals, is calculated based on the share prices of the companies in which those listed hold equity.

The largest jump in wealth was posted by Vladimir Potanin, the owner of mining giant Norilsk Nickel, who remained Russia’s richest person on the list, occupying 58th spot globally. The nickel magnate is estimated to have increased his wealth by $3.82 billion in the first five months of the year, to $31.7 billion.

Second place is held by Vagit Alekperov, the former boss of Russian energy giant Lukoil, in which he still owns a large chunk of shares. The businessman added $561 million to his wealth this year and is worth an estimated $25.9 billion.

Vladimir Lisin, the chairman of NLMK, Russia’s largest steelmaker, is ranked third. His net worth declined by $1.62 to $24.2 billion, which saw him slip down one place from Bloomberg’s October 2024 listing.

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The biggest decline in wealth among the richest Russians was registered by the former chairman of fertilizer giant Uralkali, Dmitry Rybolovlev. The net worth of the majority owner and president of Monaco football club declined by $1.77 billion to $9.21 billion. Last year, Rybolovlev, who reportedly has a $2 billion art collection, failed in his attempt to sue top auction house Sotheby’s for fraud allegations.

Bloomberg’s list also included Telegram founder and owner Pavel Durov, as well as Russia’s richest woman, Tatyana Kim, the founder and chief executive of the country’s largest e-commerce platform, Wildberries.

Also listed in the Billionaire Index were the co-owner of gas producer Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson, the chairman of steel giant Severstal, Aleksey Mordashov, and the founder of Eurochem and SUEK, Andrey Melnichenko.