Rich as Rockefeller: How Russia’s rich retained their wealth despite Western sanctions over Ukraine war

Russian billionaires continue to enjoy their wealth despite sanctions from the West. As many as 22 more Russian billionaires have made it to Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2023, taking the total tally from the country to 110. The richest people in Russia added $152 billion to their wealth last year, according to Forbes Russia.Reuters report says citing Forbes Russia that there has been an uptick in the wealth of Russian billionaires from $353 billion last March to $505 billion in March 2023.Notably, Russia invaded Ukraine last February, leading to several economic sanctions by the West on the country and some of its billionaires. Let’s take a closer look at these richest Russians and how most have survived sanctions.Top 5 richest RussiansAndrei Melnichenko, the founder of fertiliser producer Eurochem and coal energy company SUEK, is the wealthiest Russian with an estimated worth of $25.2 billion, a jump from $14.1 billion in March 2022.He is ranked in the 58th position on the world’s billionaires list by Forbes. Vladimir Potanin is the 62nd richest person in the world. Once the richest Russian, he is now ranked second in the Forbes list.President and largest shareholder of mining giant Nornickel, Potanin is estimated to have a fortune of $23.7 billion.

Potanin and his Russian commercial lender Rosbank were sanctioned by the United States in December last year.

Vladimir Lisin, who heads NLMK Group – a manufacturer of steel products – is the third richest Russian and 70th wealthiest person in the world, as per Forbes, with a fortune of $22.1 billion.[caption id="attachment_12503242" align="alignnone" width="640"]

Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption]Founder and chairman of natural gas producer Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson, is the fourth richest Russian, with a net worth of $21.6 billion. Mikhelson was sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the US in April last year.The 79th richest person in the world and the fifth wealthiest in Russia is Alexey Mordashov, the biggest shareholder in steel company Severstal. After serving as the CEO for 19 years, he resigned from the post in 2015. Severstal has lost over $400 million over the last year after it was sanctioned by the West, Forbes reported citing Mordashov.There would have been five more Russians on the list, if five billionaires, including DST Global founder Yuri Milner, Revolut founder Nikolay Storonsky, Freedom Finance founder Timur Turlov, and JetBrains co-founders Sergei Dmitriev and Valentin Kipyatkov, had not renounced their Russian citizenship, reported Forbes. 

How Russian billionaires skirted sanctionsAmong the 110 Russian or Russia-born billionaires in the Forbes list, at least 46 have been sanctioned by the US, UK and the European Union (EU).Out of these, 39 made it to both the 2022 and 2023 Forbes World’s Billionaires list. They have lost $45 billion, or around 13 per cent of their collective net worth, since 23 February 2022 – a day before Russia invaded Ukraine.However, these 39 sanctioned billionaires have recovered $104 billion since March 2022, reported Forbes.As per a Bloomberg report in December 2022, two dozen rich Russians lost nearly $95 billion last year amid Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. The most affected among them was Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea FC owner, whose fortune plunged 57 per cent to $7.8 billion in 2022.

However, these losses still did not hold a candle to those borne by US tech billionaires like Elon Musk last year.

As per a Forbes report, many Russian billionaires have transferred their assets to family members to skirt Western sanctions. Taking pre-emptive action, some even sent their yachts or jets to friendlier countries, such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which did not sanctioned Russia.ALSO READ: What is Russia’s Wagner Group doing in Sudan? Why is Vladimir Putin’s shadow army pushing its way into Africa?Viktor Winkler, a sanctions lawyer, told Forbes that the assets of Russian billionaires have “survived remarkably well” despite Western sanctions. “[Before 2022] a very large and significant portion of their wealth had already been parked in countries which [don’t] adopt the sanctions of the West. Many have been able to react to incoming sanctions after February 23 since they…have been sanctioned only much later after (Russian president Vladimir) Putin’s invasion.”The rise in prices of commodities such as oil, fertilisers, metals and minerals last year also increased profits for Russian companies. Moscow sold oil, metals and other natural resources to other countries, especially China, India and the Middle East, even as West sanctioned Russian economy, reported Reuters.The cost of Urals oil, the "lifeblood of the Russian economy" as per Reuters, averaged $76.09 per barrel last year, a surge from $69 in 2021.Amid sanctions, Russia's economy shrank 2.1 per cent in 2022, much less than the prediction of 12 per cent or more.Earlier in January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted Britain’s economy to sink below Russia's.In April, the IMF increased its forecast for Russian growth in 2023 to 0.7 per cent from 0.3 per cent. But it has lowered the 2024 forecast to 1.3 per cent from 2.1 per cent, as per Reuters.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.