Forbes Record Despite Sanctions: Russia's Billionaires in 2026
For the fourth consecutive year, the number of Russian billionaires on the Forbes list has risen. It now stands at 155, 9 more than last year—a record high since the ranking began. The combined wealth of Russia’s richest individuals rose by approximately $70 billion (€61 billion) to a total of $695.5 billion (€608 billion).
Mordashov is Russia’s Richest Man
At the top of the list of Russia’s super-rich is steel magnate Alexei Mordashov, with $37 billion (€32 billion), ranking 57th globally. According to Forbes, his fortune grew by nearly $10 billion last year. In 2022, the year the conflict in Ukraine escalated, his fortune had shrunk by $13 billion. Currently, Mordashov ranks 10 places behind German logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne (47th with a fortune of $41.9 billion) and about $30 billion behind the richest German, Lidl founder Dieter Schwarz (ranked 29th with a fortune of $67.2 billion).
Forbes noted that the ruble’s appreciation of about 16% last year helped boost the wealth of Russian billionaires. Since 2022, when the number of billionaires fell from 123 to 88, the number of Russian billionaires on the Forbes list has grown steadily: to 110 in 2023, 125 in 2024, and 146 last year.
Mordashov’s fortune climbed by $8.4 billion within a year, fueled by rising gold prices and rising stock prices of the retail chain Lenta—which took over the business of the formerly German home improvement chain Obi in January.
Vladimir Potanin, a major shareholder in Norilsk Nickel, is the second-richest Russian at No. 79 with $29.7 billion. Lukoil founder Vagit Alekperov, who had topped the list for the past two years, drops to third place with $29.5 billion and ranks 81st on the global Forbes list. Also ranking in the top 100 are Leonid Michelson (Novatek, No. 88, $28.3 billion) and Suleiman Kerimov (No. 99, $25.7 billion). In terms of the total number of billionaires, Russia ranks fifth globally, behind Germany (212 billionaires), India (229), China (610), and the U.S. (989).
“It has never been easier to be a billionaire,” Forbes comments on the new ranking, noting that the world’s 3,428 billionaires increased their collective wealth by 20% to more than $4 trillion.
Agricultural Billionaires: A New Class Emerges
The composition of Russia’s super-rich is shifting noticeably. Traditional fortunes from energy and raw materials, which long formed the foundation of Russian wealth, are now sharing the spotlight with a growing class of “agricultural billionaires” who are benefiting from Russia’s increasing food self-sufficiency and the expansion of exports to Asian, African, and Middle Eastern markets. The best-known among the agricultural billionaires is Alexander Tkachev, former Minister of Agriculture and Governor of the Krasnodar region, and now the majority shareholder of Agrokomplex.
The wealthiest newcomer in this year’s ranking is Ruslan Rachimkulov with $1.9 billion, whose investment holding company Kafijat made the list following a sharp rise in the share price of Hungary’s OTP Bank—together with his brother, he holds approximately 10% of the shares.
Among the year’s losers is Pavel Durov: The Telegram founder lost 61% of his fortune—from $17.1 approx. 15 billion euros, to $6.6 billion, equivalent to 5.8 billion euros, which Forbes attributes to a “significant deterioration in market conditions,” including growing restrictions on Telegram in Russia, one of the app’s most important markets.
Sanctions, Foundations, and the Question of Succession
The American news portal Bloomberg reported on March 12 about an accelerated repatriation of Russian assets to Russia, accompanied by the establishment of legal structures to secure succession. The number of newly established private foundations—instruments similar to Anglo-Saxon trusts that manage assets for beneficiaries—rose by more than 200% last year and now totals over 600, according to the Moscow law firm FTL Advisers.
The reason, Bloomberg analysts write, is structural in nature: even Cyprus and Switzerland, traditionally preferred locations, have introduced bans on the administration of family trusts with Russian settlors or beneficiaries. The average age of Russian dollar billionaires is over 60—how and where they pass on their wealth will have significant consequences for individual economic sectors.
This article first appeared in the exclusive newsletter of the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade
