Russian billionaires see their fortunes grow, according to Forbes

Russia has 110 official billionaires on the relevant list.

The Russian edition of Forbes magazine reported that Russia’s richest people added $152 billion to their fortunes last year, thanks to rising natural resource prices and recovering from the huge losses they incurred shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine.

Russia has 110 official billionaires on the list, up 22 from last year, according to Forbes Russia, which said their combined wealth rose to $505 billion, up from $353 billion.

The list would be even longer if five billionaires – DST Global founder Yuri Milner, Revolut founder Nikolai Storonsky, Freedom Finance founder Timur Turlov and JetBrains founder Sergey Dmitriev and Valentin Kibyatkov – had not renounced their Russian citizenship, Forbes reports.

And Forbes magazine stated that “last year’s ranking was also affected by predictions of a deterioration in the Russian economy,” adding that the total wealth of Russian billionaires was $606 billion in 2021, before the start of the war.

The Russian economy shrank by 2.1% in 2022 under the pressure of Western sanctions, but the country was able to sell oil, minerals and other natural resources to global markets, especially 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 forecast for 2024 to 1.3% from 2.1%, saying it also expects labor shortages and the exit of Western companies from Russia. harms the country’s economy.

The price of Urals oil, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, averaged $76.09 a barrel in 2022, up from $69 in 2021. Fertilizer prices also rose last year.

Andrei Melnichenko, who made his fortune in fertilizers, is listed by Forbes as Russia’s richest man, with an estimated worth of $25.2 billion, more than double his value last year. Melnyshenko could not immediately be reached for comment on his position on the Forbes list.

Vladimir Potanin, chairman and largest shareholder of Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and refined nickel, is the second richest man in Russia with a fortune of $23.7 billion. Potanin could not immediately be reached for comment on his position on the Forbes list.

Vladimir Leshin, who controls the NLMK steel company and last year was the richest man in Russia, ranks third in this year’s Forbes list with a fortune of $22.1 billion. Reuters indicates that he could not immediately be reached for comment on his position on the Forbes list.

New names on the Russian Forbes list include billionaires who made their fortunes from snack foods, supermarkets, chemicals, real estate and pharmaceuticals, showing that domestic demand in Russia has remained strong despite Western sanctions.