Forbes list sees Russian billionaire numbers double

Vladimir Lisin managed to increase his fortune by $10.6bn

The number of Russian billionaires and their combined fortunes doubled last year, Forbes Russia magazine has said.

Steel tycoon Vladimir Lisin took the top spot as his fortune rose to $15.8bn (£10.2bn) from $5.2bn a year ago.

The number of Russian billionaires rose to 62 from 32, while their combined fortune jumped to $297bn from $142bn.

Forbes Russia notes that the main Russian stock index RTS also doubled during the same period, "although the economy has stagnated in general".

RUSSIA'S SUPER-RICH BY FORBES 1. Vladimir Lisin - $15.8bn 2. Mikhail Prokhorov - $13.4bn 3. Mikhail Fridman - $12.7bn 4. Roman Abramovich - $11.2bn 5. Oleg Deripaska - $10.7bn Source: Forbes Russia magazine

Technology and mining billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who was on top of the list last year, dropped to second place, despite increasing his fortune to $13.4bn from $9.5bn.

Oil, telecoms and retail tycoon Mikhail Fridman came third with $12.7bn ($6.3bn a year ago), while Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is in forth place with $11.2bn ($8.5bn a year ago).

Alexander Lebedev, owner of the London Evening Standard and the Independent, is 34th with a fortune of $2bn.

Earlier this year, Russian business magazine Finans published its latest rich list, which had 77 Russian dollar billionaires in it.

At the time, Finans said that the people who had done well were, "people who had sold their businesses or part of them before the crisis reached its acute phase". The Russian economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis in 2009, shrinking by almost 8%.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version