Who are the Russian Oligarchs?
Russia’s wealthiest individuals have lost more than $38 billion in 2022 because of Western sanctions on Russia in reprisal for the invasion of Ukraine.
The top 10 Russian oligarchs have a net worth of $186 billion, equivalent to the market cap of large publicly traded companies like McDonald’s and AMD.
But who are the Russian ultra-rich? In today’s graphic, we use data from Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index to show Russia’s wealthiest individuals… and how much they’ve lost due to the war so far.
Metals, Art, Luxury, and Sports
The wealthiest person in Russia, Vladimir Potanin, has a 35% stake in Moscow-listed Nornickel.
The company is the world’s biggest palladium producer, a metal used in vehicle catalytic converters, and nickel, an essential metal for EV batteries and renewable energy.
| Rank | Name | Net worth USD | $ YTD change* | Bloomberg List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Vladimir Potanin | $25.9B | -$5.00B | 53 |
| #2 | Leonid Mikhelson | $22.6B | -$9.87B | 66 |
| #3 | Alexey Mordashov | $22.5B | -$6.32B | 67 |
| #4 | Vladimir Lisin | $21.6B | -$6.44B | 69 |
| #5 | Alisher Usmanov | $19.0B | -$2.25B | 89 |
| #6 | Andrey Melnichenko | $17.8B | +$0.35B | 99 |
| #7 | Viktor Vekselberg | $16.7B | -$1.79B | 107 |
| #8 | Roman Abramovich | $14.1B | -$3.90B | 132 |
| #9 | Mikhail Prokhorov | $13.8B | -$0.23B | 138 |
| #10 | Suleiman Kerimov | $11.8B | -$3.37B | 177 |
| Total | $185.8B | -$38.8B |
*Based on Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of March 24, 2022
Former First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and a close associate to President Vladimir Putin, Potanin is a significant benefactor of the arts. He recently stepped down from the board of the Guggenheim Museum after 20 years as a trustee.
Arts and luxury are shared among the Russian oligarchs.
The Russian ultra-rich are also among the biggest owners of private jets and superyachts—some of which are getting snagged by law enforcement as part of the sanctions designed to crack down on Russia.
The fifth-richest man in Russia, Alisher Usmanov, owns Dilbar, the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage. The boat is 512 feet long and reportedly cost $800 million, employing 84 full-time crew members.
