RBC found out which Russian businessmen are “getting richer” despite the crisis – Rosbalt

The wealth of most Russian billionaires is rapidly declining: on the day the Russian special military operation in Ukraine began (February 24), the richest people in the country lost more than $38 billion.

The record collapse of the stock market, tough sanctions against the Russian economy and individual billionaires exacerbated the situation. However, in Russia there were billionaires who not only retained their capital, but also managed to increase it – at least according to Forbes, and RBC publishes a list of them.

The agency studied the rating for January 1, February 24 and March 4, 2022 to compare how the fortunes of Russian billionaires have changed since the beginning of the year (marked by another wave of the pandemic and tension in the markets due to the upcoming Fed rate hike) and after the start of a special military operation on Ukraine, subsequent sanctions, the collapse of the ruble and the stock market.

Some Russian billionaires from the Forbes list have increased their fortunes by tens of percent since the beginning of the year, although not all were able to maintain this level after the start of the conflict in Ukraine. A few people are still “in the black” when comparing the current valuation of their assets with the valuation as of January 1st.

So, in particular, the capital of Arkady Rotenberg has increased since the beginning of this year by 7% to $ 3 billion. The billionaire, who is under US and EU sanctions as a person from Vladimir Putin’s close circle, owns 94.2% of Mostotrest (a contractor for the construction of bridges, roads and other infrastructure facilities), 80% of fertilizer manufacturer Minudobreniya, 35% of TPS Avia (which controls Sheremetyevo Airport) and half of SMP Bank. At the beginning of the year, Forbes estimated Rotenberg’s assets at $2.8 billion, by mid-February the estimate had risen to $3.4 billion. By March 4, the billionaire’s assets had fallen in price by $400 million and are now $1 billion behind the record high valuation that Forbes recorded in 2013 .

But the fortune of Igor Rotenberg has grown by 9% since February 24 to $1.2 billion as of March 4. The eldest son of Arkady Rotenberg, the billionaire owned 78.71% of the shares of Gazprom Burenie. Dividends on these securities returned him to the list of dollar billionaires in 2021, but he soon exited the company’s capital. Igor Rotenberg also owns stakes in the Aviapark shopping mall in Moscow and RT-Invest Transport Systems (operator of the Platon truck toll system). By March 1, his fortune was still estimated at $1.1 billion, but three days later the assets were revalued by $100 million.

Dmitry Rybolovlev, with a fortune of $ 6.7 billion, has grown by 1.5% since the beginning of the year. The former owner of Uralkali and the billionaire living in Monaco invests mainly in art. He also owns Monaco Football Club and two islands in Greece. According to Forbes estimates, his fortune since 2010 (then it was estimated at $ 9.5 billion) has mostly been declining. Nevertheless, in 2022, despite the crisis, his fortune remains generally stable, and after February 20 even increased by $100 million.

Oleg Boyko’s capital has increased by 8% since the beginning of the year to $1.4 billion. The founder of the Finstar investment group, which manages assets worth $2 billion, investing mainly in fintech and financial services. He also owns the Rive Gauche perfume chain and the Ritzio International gambling chain. Since the beginning of 2022, Boyko’s fortune has been gradually growing, and neither the pandemic nor the conflict in Ukraine stopped this process. In 2017, the billionaire’s fortune was estimated at $ 1.5 billion – the businessman has not yet surpassed this threshold.