Football Club FanClub on 18 May 2006 02:07 pm
Rich are getting much richer in Russia
FORBES LIST
Rich are getting much richer in Russia
Soaring markets boost oligarchs’ wealth
Bloomberg News
MOSCOW — Russia’s rich added $107-billion (U.S.) to their wealth during the past year as commodity and stock prices soared, Forbes magazine reports.
The “Golden Hundred,” led for a second year by Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich, had $248-billion of assets on March 24, 76 per cent more than a year earlier, Forbes’ Russian edition said in a preview of its annual survey. The wealth represents about one-third of Russian gross domestic product.
“The inflow of money in the stock market, rising prices for metals and the attractiveness of the banking, insurance and construction businesses” fuelled the increase, Forbes chief editor Maxim Kashulinsky said.
Since collapsing in 1998, the $770-billion Russian economy is in its eighth straight year of growth, driven by rising prices for oil and natural gas. The threshold to make this year’s list was $450-million, almost double what it took last year.
Russia is home to the world’s third-largest clutch of billionaires, according to Forbes’ U.S. edition.
Mr. Abramovich, 39, who overtook jailed OAO Yukos Oil Co. owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky in last year’s list, saw his fortune swell $3.6-billion to $18.3-billion.
Mr. Khodorkovsky, 42, is serving eight years in a Siberian labour camp for tax evasion and fraud.
The biggest gainer in this year’s top 100 is Vagit Alekperov, chief executive officer of OAO Lukoil, Russia’s largest oil company. The 55-year-old former Soviet oil official’s fortune tripled in the year, rising by $8.6-billion, as his shares in Lukoil and other companies surged, Forbes said. Mr. Alekperov is now Russia’s second-richest man, Forbes said, without giving an estimate of his fortune. The U.S. edition of the magazine said last month Mr. Alekperov was worth $11-billion.
The youngest members of the “Golden Hundred,” at 34, are Andrei Melnichenko and Sergei Popov, co-founders of financial-industrial holding company MDM Group, and Danil Khachaturov of state-controlled insurer OAO Rosgosstrakh, Forbes said.
The MDM partners are each worth $3.8-billion and Mr. Khachaturov is worth $760-million, the magazine said.
Entering at No. 100 with $450-million to his name is Alexei Fedorychev, who sponsors the Monaco and Dynamo professional European soccer clubs and owns sulphur and shipping assets via his Fedkominvest holding.
They helped reduce the proportion of Russia’s richest people who depend on energy assets for their wealth. Two years ago, natural resources accounted for the bulk of the assets of 64 of the 100 richest. Now that number is 40, Forbes said.
The Golden Hundred
The 100 wealthiest Russians have assets worth $248-billion (U.S.) or more than one-quarter of Russia’s nominal gross domestic product. The richest amassed fortunes and influence in the chaotic privatizations that followed the fall of the Soviet Union. They have bolstered their wealth in recent years in a wave of initial public offerings and attempts to present a more friendly face to foreign investors.
Top of the list
Roman Abramovich, 39, owner of English soccer club Chelsea, stayed at the top with a fortune of $18.3-billion, a gain of $3.6-billion on last year. He saw his fortune swell by $3.6-billion to $18.3-billion after he sold oil producer OAO Sibneft to state-run OAO Gazprom for $13.1-billion last year.
Off the list
Mikhail Khordokovsky, the founder of oil firm Yukos and once top of Forbes list, has dropped out of the top 100 after making 21st place with $2.1-billion last year. He is serving an eight-year sentence in a Siberian jail for fraud and tax evasion.
$3,600
Average yearly Russian salary.
43%
This year’s rise in the Russian Trading System stock index.
Top 5
Roman Abramovich
Vagit Alekperov
Vladimir Lisin
Mikhail Fridman
Viktor Vekselberg
Sources:
Reuters News Agency,
Bloomberg News
