Top 20 richest people in 2023
Contents:
• Under the New Year's chimes, most Russian billionaires will rightfully be able to say: "It was a hard year!" Since the beginning of 2023, their total wealth has decreased by 42%, and amounted to $ 353 billion. And 35 people left the number of billionaires, and now their number is 88 people.
• Forbes magazine experts found out who is the richest person in 2023 and compiled a list of domestic businessmen who turn over billions of dollars.
20. Alexei Kuzmichev – $6 billion
Together with Mikhail Fridman and German Khan, Kuzmichev is one of the three founders of LetterOne Holdings and Alfa Group.
• However, due to the sanctions imposed by Britain and the European Union, Kuzmichev left the leadership of these businesses, and transferred his stake in Alfa Group to Andrey Kosogov.
19. Dmitry Rybolovlev – $6,6 billion
The owner of two Greek islands, a football club in Monaco and the former home of Will Smith, suffered very little if any in 2022 compared to other participants in the Forbes Russia list of the richest people in 2023. His fortune decreased by $0,1 billion.
• For comparison: Kuzmichev's fortune (20th place) went negative by $1,8 billion compared to last year. And Viktor Rashnikov (18th line) missed as much as 4,6 billion dollars.
18. Viktor Rashnikov – $6,6 billion
Although Rashnikov, like many other Russian businessmen, fell under Western sanctions, he managed to withdraw the shares of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works from Cyprus to Russia. And even earlier, in 2021, according to Forbes, Rashnikov sold a 4,5% stake in MMK for over $450 million.
• Let me remind you that MMK is one of the largest metallurgical plants in the Russian Federation, and with a full production cycle. And Rashnikov is its main shareholder.
17. Roman Abramovich – $6,9 billion
If in 2005 Abramovich had $13 billion at his disposal after the sale of a 73% stake in Sibneft, then in 2022 his fortune is “only” $6,9 billion. The change from 2021 was $7,6 billion.
• And Abramovich officially sold the Chelsea football club that he owned to the Todd Boehley consortium. The sale amount is 4,25 billion euros, most of the funds will go to humanitarian aid for Ukraine, the rest is a long-term investment in the team.
16. Nikolay Storonsky – $7,1 billion
If the previous participants in the list of the richest people in 2023 were declining, then Storonsky, who owns a stake in the British fintech company Revolut, grew by $5,9 billion.
• And all thanks to the successful attraction of investments, with the participation of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and the American hedge fund Tiger Global.
• Revolt provides currency exchange services without a bank commission, converting funds at the average market rate.
15. Yuri Milner – $7,3 billion
He does not put his eggs in one basket, but invests in many different companies, including: Alibaba Group, Xiaomi, Facebook (recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation), Twitter, etc.
• In a year, Milner's fortune grew by $2,5 billion.
14. Herman Khan – $7,8 billion
Khan, who is among the largest shareholders of Alfa Group and LetterOne Holdings, fell under sanctions, and his capital "lost" by $ 2,3 billion compared to a year earlier.
• According to Bloomberg, Khan transferred his stake in LetterOne Holdings to another shareholder who was not affected by the sanctions.
13. Igor Bukhman – $8,1 billion
Bukhman's income comes from the Russian company Playrix, which produces computer and mobile free-to-play games (Fishdom, Gardenscapes, Homescapes, etc.). It is one of the largest developers of mobile games in terms of annual revenue, and in 2021, according to the analytical company App Annie, it displaced such a giant as the American Activision Blizzard from third place.
12. Dmitry Bukhman – $8,1 billion
The younger brother of Igor Bukhman was also among the richest people in 2023, because they have a common business. Over the past year, he added $0,2 billion to his fortune.
11. Mikhail Prokhorov – $10,3 billion
The owner of the Renaissance Capital bank sold 82,47% of the shares of the energy company Quadra to the structure of Rosatom at the beginning of this year. It is not known exactly how much this deal brought him, Forbes experts suggest that 26 billion rubles, or $431 million.
10. Vagit Alekperov – $10,5 billion
The top 10 richest people in 2023 are opened by the founder of Lukoil, whose fortune has decreased by $14,4 billion over the past year. In April 2023, Alekperov resigned from all positions in his company so that the sanctions against him would not harm the development of Lukoil.
• The businessman does not own a controlling stake in Lukoil; as of March this year, he owned 3,12% of the shares, plus "beneficial economic interest" in relation to another 5,43% of the shares.
9. Andrey Melnichenko – $11,1 billion
2022 was not the best year for the owner of the shares of the fertilizer manufacturer Evrokhim and the coal-energy company SUEK. He said goodbye to $6,8 billion, and is no longer a beneficiary and a member of the Board of Directors of both companies.
• Since March of this year, Melnichenko has been under sanctions from the European Union, the United States and Great Britain.
8. Gennady Timchenko – $11,3 billion
One of the richest people today in 2022 became poorer by $10,7 billion. The oligarch owns several assets:
- Novatek (23,49%),
- Sibur (14,5%),
- Stroytransgaz (53%),
- Bank Rossiya (7,9%),
- Volga Group (100%),
- Transoil (80%).
• Along with many other billionaires from Russia, Timchenko came under sanctions from the EU, Britain and the United States. However, in the summer it became known that the businessman filed a lawsuit with the EU court demanding that the sanctions against him be lifted and compensation for non-pecuniary damage in the amount of 1 million euros be paid.
7. Alisher Usmanov – $11,5 billion
Founder of the Russian holding USM Holdings, which includes Metalloinvest, MegaFon, Udokan Copper and Akkerman Cement. Previously, it also included VK. In addition, Usmanov controls the Kommersant publishing house.
• A year earlier, Alisher Usmanov was $6,9 billion richer. The sanctions affected not only Usmanov's business, but also his Dilbar yacht, which is valued at $550 million. She cannot sail from the port of Hamburg.
6. Mikhail Fridman – $11,8 billion
The Russian entrepreneur, who has chosen the shores of Foggy Albion for life, owns such assets as the LetterOne Holdings group and Alfa Group. In late February, Friedman came under UK and EU sanctions and filed a lawsuit to challenge them.
• Also, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, he complained that the monthly spending limit set by the British authorities (about $ 3300) was not enough to live on, and the businessman's accounts were frozen.
5. Alexey Mordashov and family – $13,2 billion
If last year Mordashov was in first place, then in the list of Russian billionaires in 2023, he moved to fifth place (minus $15,9 billion according to Forbes).
• This Russian is included in the EU, US and UK sanctions lists, along with many other Russian businessmen, officials and politicians. The companies owned by Mordashov – Severstal, Nordgold and Severgroup – also fell under the sanctions.
4. Leonid Mikhelson – $14 billion
A major shareholder of the gas company Novatek (24,6%) and the petrochemical company Sibur (30,6%) is no longer as rich as before – minus $10,9 billion compared to 2021.
• However, the billionaire does not stand still: Novatek is participating in the multibillion-dollar Arctic LNG 2 project for the production of liquefied natural gas in the north of Yamal. It is expected to reach its full capacity (19,8 million tons per year) in 2025.
3. Pavel Durov – $15,1 billion
The first three largest millionaires are opened by one of the creators of the VKontakte social network and the popular Telegram messenger.
• Back in 2014, Durov left Russia and now lives in Dubai. Telegram brings him income, but in 2022 his capital decreased by $2,1 billion.
2. Vladimir Potanin – $17,3 billion
The second among the richest financial tycoons-billionaires in the Russian Federation is one of the co-owners of Norilsk Nickel (35,95% of the shares), and has been on the Forbes Russia list of the richest people for several years.
In 2022, the fortune of the president of Norilsk Nickel has changed by $9,7 billion with a minus sign. As stated in the published message of the press service of the British Parliament, "Potanin continues to accumulate wealth by supporting the Putin regime, acquiring Rosbank and stakes in Tinkoff Bank» after the start of the special operation in Ukraine.
• However, Norilsk Nickel was not affected by the sanctions. It tops the list of the largest suppliers of palladium (38%) and nickel (17%) to the global market. The company also produces about 11% of all platinum in the world.
1. Vladimir Lisin – $18,4 billion
The richest businessman once began his career as an electrician, and now he holds the position of chairman of the board of directors of the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works (NLMK), one of the leading metallurgical companies in our country.
If in 2021 Lisin was only third on the list of Russian dollar billionaires, now, even with a decrease in capital by $7,8 billion, he has become the leader of the new rating for the first time. And in the world top richest people in the world 2022 he is ranked 87th.
