Five of the Richest Russian Billionaires

richest russians

Being a billionaire in Russia is a tough job, and we have the facts to prove it. For one, the wealthiest billionaire in Russia as of today is the seventh in the past decade to claim the top spot. We can pull out our internal optimists and think that it’s nice so many men and women in Russia can make it to the top of what might be the most exclusive list in the world. Or, we can pull out our reality-loving side and admit that it’s a volatile market for billionaires who are simply unable to hold onto their richest for very long. For one, the wealthiest billionaire in Russia is only the 60th wealthiest man in the world. It’s impressive, but not really. That said, let’s take a look at the five richest billionaires in Russia in 2016 and see what it is that makes them rich (other than their money, obviously).

Gennady Timchenko

Gennady Timchenko – $11.4 billion

This guy doesn’t even live in Russia. He was born and raised there, but he calls Geneva, Switzerland home. It’s a lovely country, though, so who can blame him? He made his billions by doing the self-made deal and getting into the oil and gas industry. He co-founded the Gunvor Group, and he has been selling off his stakes regularly over the past two years. In his spare time, he serves as the president of both the Russian National Hockey League and the SKA Saint-Petersburg Hockey Club. Mostly, though, he spends his time socializing with Vladimir Putin, which has earned him some trouble and a bad reputation with the USA.

vladimir potanin

Vladimir Potanin – $12.1 billion

He’s an educated man with a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Science, he has four kids, he’s married and he is self-made. He decided that the metals business was a lucrative one, and he was not mistaken in his opinion. He is the chairman of Norilsk Nickel. He became a billionaire back in 1998, and he’s managed to stay on the list ever since. He and his former partner founded a company called Interros, which was a major player in the metals game, with more than a little interest in both mining and energy. He was born and raised in Russia, and he continues to call Moscow his home.

alisher usmanov

Alisher Usmanov – $12.5 billion

There is nothing you can say to make this man seem any less intelligent. He’s one of the most intelligent men around; a self-made billionaire with more Masters Degrees than most. He’s got a Masters of Law, a Masters of Finance and several other degrees to his name. He is not limited to just one industry, either. He holds major interests in businesses such as Metalloinvest, MegaFon, USM Holdings, and even Kommersant. He was also one of the first investors in Facebook, and he also owns a large stake in Alibaba. These are just a few of his major ownings, but he has dozens more keeping him a very wealthy man. He’s involved in the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and he’s been known to donate tens of millions of dollars at one time to various programs.

mikhail fridman

Mikhail Fridman – $13.3 billion

He was born and raised in Russia, but he calls London his home these days. He and his friends from college, German Khan and Alexie Kuzmichev own some major interests in a major company. They got together and decided to go into business together, and now they are the shares in control of something called the Alfa Group, which is the largest and most profitable industrial and financial investment group in his native country. This group owns major stakes in this company, which means it owns major stakes in many of the world’s biggest industries and businesses. He’s a divorced man with four kids.

leonid mikhelson

Leonid Mikhelson – $14.4 billion

The wealthiest billionaire in Russia this year is Leonid Mikhelson. He’s a self-made man with interests in the gas and chemicals business. He owns and controls a company called Sibur, which is a petrochemical company. He sold 10% of his company to a Chinese company for more than $1 billion, and that really got him going. Now he partners with the fifth wealthiest man on this list, Gennady Timchenko, as the shareholder for Novatek. His real passion, however, is art work. He has managed to fund galleries, artists and much more in the industry over the course of the past several years. He began his career with his father working as a construction foreman for a pipeline construction company, and he managed to work his way up from there by learning the business.

Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.