Every year, Russian Forbes, as a good housewife, counts chickens, but not simple, but gold. Experts of the magazine monitor Russian capital and choose the most well-fed copies in terms of wealth.
The Forbes list of the richest people in Russia in 2019 totals 200 people, but we will tell you about the top ten.
10. Roman Abramovich
Net worth: $ 12.4 billion
Opens the selected ten richest people in Russia in 2019 according to Forbes Roman Abramovich. Although he prefers to live quietly, to stay in the background and gives interviews rarely and only on major holidays, he is the most famous “Russian” rich man in the West.
Even people who are far from football know that at the beginning of the two thousandths, the ex-chief of Chukotka bought Chelsea, having fallen off for him an unprecedented amount in the history of football clubs - 140 million pounds.
But just a third of a century ago, Abramovich began his business career with the sale of rubber toys in the cooperative society “Cosiness”. True, much has changed since then - he switched from toys to petroleum products, contributed to the election of Yeltsin in 1996, and experienced the sovereign anger of Vladimir Vladimirovich. And now the indignant Venetians complain to the city hall that the billionaire’s yacht blocks their view of the sea.
9. Alisher Usmanov
Net worth: $ 12.6 billion
Usmanov’s life and career proceeded violently. He began as a typical representative of the Soviet nomenclature elite.
Everything seemed to develop cloudless, when suddenly in the early eighties, the Soviet Themis unleashed her punishing sword on several representatives of the golden party youth, including Alisher. Usmanov was sentenced to 8 years for fraud. However, twenty years later, the sentence was recognized as fabricated.
Whatever it was, Usmanov could rise again only after 7 years, when he began to trade in plastic bags and tobacco. Then he led the company, which collected money from debtors for consumed gas. And then he moved to the entertainment industry - he bought Muz-TV, shares of Megafon and Scartel (formerly Yota), and also became the sole owner of Mail.Ru.
The latter includes Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki, and a whole bunch of online games that differ in shareware distribution model and monetization.
8. Andrey Melnichenko
Net worth: $ 13.8 billion
Melnichenko demonstrated his talent for making money in his youth. In his student dormitory, a currency exchange office was organized by his efforts (remember how at the beginning of perestroika, the streets of cities were full of colors?)
Over time, the foreign exchange business grew to MDM Bank. Then Andrew decided to move away from financial matters and move on to industrial matters. Now he is the main shareholder of SUEK (coal) and Eurochem (fertilizers) enterprises. And he is proud that he created both enterprises from scratch, in contrast to those who managed to snatch pieces from the USSR that was leaving for oblivion in the early nineties.
One of the richest people in Russia, along with his wife and two children, leads a quiet, closed life on his gigantic yacht, designed by personal order.
7. Mikhail Fridman
Fortune: $ 15 billion
In seventh place in the list of the richest people in Russia settled Michael Fridman. Like Abramovich, he was closely associated with Yeltsin and also supported the re-election of Boris Nikolaevich with the ruble.
And, unlike other financial bigwigs, bankers, acting in a similar way, only Friedman managed to lead his brainchild through the stormy waters of the nineties and the financial crises of the two thousandth to our days. Not only that, keep it in working and even prosperous condition. We are talking about Alfa Bank.
In 2013, Mikhail decided to cover Europe as well. According to the tradition that has already developed among Russian billionaires, he trades in petroleum products in his company, succinctly named “L1”.
6. Vladimir Potanin
Net worth: $ 18.1 billion
Another representative of the nomenclature elite, who, at a turning point in the country, managed to fidget and receive valuable assets.
It was Potanin who owned the idea of collateral auctions, thanks to which large banks managed to become major shareholders of industrial and mining enterprises during perestroika.
As a result of this financial maneuver, Vladimir became a shareholder of Norilsk Nickel, which continues to nourish it financially to this day.
5. Gennady Timchenko
Net worth: $ 20.1 billion
But Timchenko, unlike most of the Forbes top ten billionaires, is not the Yeltsin’s nest, but Putin’s. Gennady has been familiar with GDP almost from school, and this friendship may have influenced his career.
Timchenko was mainly engaged in the sale of petroleum products abroad. And like many Russian billionaires, came under the blow of Western sanctions.
True, just a day before their introduction, showing amazing insight, Timchenko sold 44% of the oil trader to his Scandinavian partner. The family of a billionaire, who now instead of Finland and Switzerland now has to find in Russia, suffered from the stocks.
However, Gennady is not sad, continues to earn money and make friends with the head of state. He repeatedly assured that money is nothing, and at the first click of Vladimir Vladimirovich’s fingers he is ready to transfer capital to the state or to charity. “If only it would be beneficial,” adds the billionaire.
4. Alexey Mordashov
Net worth: $ 20.5 billion
Forbes magazine has warm feelings for Mordashov, it was his photo that appeared on the cover of the very first issue of this magazine. Whatever you say, Mordashov’s path embodies the quintessence of a typical Russian businessman.
The key to success is the timely privatization of the oil and gas or, as in this case, metallurgical plant. Moreover, Mordashov acted promptly, practically taking the plant out from under the nose of his own boss, who instructed him to collect a package of documents for privatization.
And so began Alexei's monetary career, which by 2019 brought him a couple of tens of billions of dollars. In addition to the factory, Mordashov is also a media magnate who owns the shares of Channel One, STS and that same channel about reptilian aliens, REN TV. He also owns half of Tele2's shares.
3. Vagit Alekperov
Net worth: $ 20.7 billion
The three richest people in Russia in 2019 are opened by Vagit Alekperov, the permanent and largest shareholder of Lukoil. In terms of capital, this oil company is second only to the main financial office of the Russian Federation, Sberbank.
He began working in the oil industry in Soviet times, at the beginning of perestroika he served as minister of the oil and gas industry, and after the collapse of the USSR he successfully privatized three rich deposits. From the names of these deposits, the abbreviation Lukoil was added.
And in his spare time from recounting the money earned by Lukoil, Alekperov is engaged in counting material money. He collects old coins.
2. Vladimir Lisin
Net worth: $ 21.3 billion
As Vladimir himself says, he buys everything that can bring a “synergistic effect”. What kind of effect is he modestly silent. However, such a strategy earned him billions of dollars.
And even though Vladimir began as a simple electric fitter, later he was lucky to work under the direction of Oleg Soskovets, who maintained strong ties with the future first Russian president. These connections did not help Lisin when, in the mid-nineties, Yeltsin fired him from a comfortable black-metal chair; but Vladimir was not taken aback, and took the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, previously belonging to the Soskovets group, to himself under the guise.
And ten years later, he changed course and turned his eyes to transportation, becoming one of the largest players in the railway transportation market. However, NMK remains its most beloved and most dairy cow.
1. Leonid Mikhelson
Condition: 24 billion dollars
The list of the richest people in Russia is headed by Leonid Mikhelson. Against this background, even the fortune of the richest woman in Russia does not look so great.
At the same time, Mikhelson believes that money is not the main thing in life. The main thing is, no matter how pathetic, creation.
Apparently, Leonid’s many years of experience in construction projects under the guidance of the pope-builder is affecting. He began his career with the construction of the Siberian oil pipeline, where a specific contingent worked - former convicts.
Under the auspices of the pope, Leonid’s career went up and up until perestroika struck. Then a smooth rise gave way to a rapid rise, especially when Mikhelson privatized Kuibyshevprovodstroy, which he led in Soviet times.
And then the hydrocarbon production and processing standard for a successful entrepreneur began, which Mikhelson is currently engaged in.
