1. Alexey Mordashov & family
NET WORTH: $29.1 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: STEEL, INVESTMENTS
The son of two Soviet steel mill workers, Mordashov is the majority shareholder of steel company Severstal, where he was CEO for 19 years until stepping down in 2015. The stock is up 72% since last year’s list, helping propel Mordashov from the fourth richest Russian to the richest person.
2. Vladimir Potanin
NET WORTH: $27 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: METALS
Potanin is credited with authoring the controversial “loans for shares” scheme that helped politically connected Russians gain control of state-owned companies during the country’s privatization in the 1990s. Most of his wealth is now parked in his 35% stake in Moscow-listed palladium and nickel producer Nornickel.
3. Vladimir Lisin
NET WORTH: $26.2 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: STEEL, TRANSPORT. Lisin started working for a group of traders that came to dominate Russia's aluminum and steel exports. When the partners separated in 2000, Lisin got a majority stake in Russia's publicly traded Novolipetsk Steel.
4 | Vagit Alekperov
NET WORTH: $24.9 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: OIL
Alekperov, a former Caspian sea oil rig worker, became a deputy minister overseeing the oil industry in the Soviet Union before taking three large state-controlled oil fields and setting up Lukoil in the 1990s. He owns around 30% of the publicly traded oil giant.
5. Leonid MikhelsonNET WORTH:
$24.9 BILLIONSOURCE OF WEALTH: GAS, CHEMICALSMikhelson is partners with Gennady Timchenko in natural gas producer Novatek and petrochemical company Sibur. He began his career as a foreman for a construction company working on a gas pipeline in Russia’s Tyumen region.
6. Gennady Timchenko
NET WORTH: $22 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: OIL, GAS
Timchenko owns stakes in gas company Novatek and petrochemical producer Sibur Holding, alongside his partner, Mikhelson. He’s reported to have close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
7. Alisher Usmanov
NET WORTH: $18.4 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: STEEL, TELECOM, INVESTMENTS
Usmanov made his first fortune producing plastic bags, a scarce commodity in the former Soviet Union. He was an early investor in Facebook and Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi, but his biggest asset is a 49% stake in iron ore and steel giant Metalloinvest.
8. Andrey Melnichenko
NET WORTH: $17.9 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: COAL, FERTILIZERS
Melnichenko’s first business venture was a chain of currency-exchange booths started in the 1990s. Today he owns stakes in fertilizer producer Eurochem and coal energy company SUEK.
9. Pavel Durov
NET WORTH: $17.2 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: TELEGRAM
Known as Russia’s Zuckerberg, Durov founded social network VK at age 22 and cashed out before creating Telegram messaging in 2013. He has been bankrolling it ever since but now plans to monetize the famously free and privacy-minded app.
10. Suleiman Kerimov & family
NET WORTH: $15.8 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: INVESTMENTS
A trained economist, Kerimov made a career investing in distressed companies in Russia—until big bets on investment banks just before the 2008 financial crisis cost him billions. He rebounded by betting on Polyus, Russia’s largest gold producer of Russia.
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