Russia's Wealthy Elite Is Getting Poorer
Russia's super-rich are losing money in 2026: According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, their total wealth has shrunk by about $21 billion since the start of the year. The index tracks the daily market values of publicly traded holdings owned by the world's 500 richest people.
An analysis of the data at the close of trading yesterday, Monday, shows a significant acceleration in the decline in wealth: The 18 Russians on the list have collectively lost more than $20 billion since the start of the year. The biggest loser is investor Mikhail Prokhorov (pictured above): His net worth fell by $6.1 billion to $10.4 billion. He is followed by Norilsk Nickel President Vladimir Potanin, whose net worth fell by $3.4 billion to $23.0 billion. Metals and tech investor Alisher Usmanov lost $2.3 billion (total net worth: $17.0 billion), Telegram founder Pavel Durov lost $2.6 billion (11.8 billion), and Lukoil founder Vagit Alekperov lost $1.6 billion (21.0 billion).
Also in the red: Vladimir Lisin, chairman of the supervisory board of Novolipetsk Steel (-$1.3 billion to $22.5 billion), Viktor Razhnikov, chairman of the supervisory board of the metallurgical company “Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine” (-$1.3 billion to $9.9 billion), former Lukoil co-owner Leonid Fedun (down $0.7 billion to $8.3 billion), and former Fosagro CEO Andrei Guriev (down 0.5 billion euros to 15.5 billion euros); and
Seven Russians saw their fortunes grow. Severstal’s main shareholder, Alexei Mordashov, gained $2.3 billion and tops the Russian billionaire list with $29.1 billion, ahead of Novatek CEO Leonid Michelson with $24.8 billion (+$1.1 billion) and fertilizer entrepreneur Andrei Melnichenko at $19.4 billion (+$0.5 billion).
Further gains were recorded by Gennady Timchenko ($15.6 billion; +$1.3 billion), Monaco soccer club owner Dmitry Rybolovlev ($10.1 billion; +$0.4 billion), the founder of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UGMK), Iskander Makhmudov ($8.3 billion; +$0.5 billion), and major Russian investor Viktor Vekselberg ($10.6 billion; +$0.008 million).
Wildberries Takes a Hit
Arguably the most prominent figure on the rich list at the moment is Tatiana Kim, founder of the leading Russian online retailer Wildberries. Her fortune fell by about 30% over the past year to $5 billion.
Despite the slump, Kim tops the ranking of the 20 wealthiest Russian women for the fifth time, as published by Forbes business magazine on August 27. Forbes attributes the $2.1 billion loss in wealth to the weak Russian stock market and the drone attacks on warehouses belonging to the online retailer Wildberries. In February, Forbes still valued Kim’s fortune at around $8 billion; within six months, it shrank by a third.
The combined wealth of the 20 richest Russian women fell from $25.8 billion to $19.0 billion. The number of female dollar billionaires fell from a record high of nine to four. Five female entrepreneurs lost their billionaire status, including Tatiana Volodina, co-owner of the L’Étoile perfume chain, and Tatiana Litvinenko, a former Fosagro shareholder.
For the first time in the history of the list, not a single newcomer was added. Behind Kim are Inteco President Yelena Baturina with $1.3 billion—the widow of the late former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov—and Uralsib’s main shareholder Lyudmila Kogan with $1.25 billion.
Musk and the Global Elite
Russian billionaires are far from the world’s top super-rich. Elon Musk tops the Bloomberg index with $869 billion—an increase of $249 billion since the start of the year. The initial public offering of his space company SpaceX briefly made him the first trillionaire in history in July.
They are followed by Google founders Larry Page, with $297 billion, and Sergey Brin, with $276 billion, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in between at $287 billion. In fifth place is computer entrepreneur Michael Dell with $231 billion. Americans from the technology sector make up the entire top ten, with the exception of French luxury goods entrepreneur Bernard Arnault. Alexei Mordashov, the richest Russian, ranks 86th worldwide.
Germany Leads in Billionaire Growth
In the U.S., the number of billionaires grew by 11.5%; in China, by 13%. Germany recorded the largest increase among major billionaire nations, at 20%.
There are 3,795 billionaires worldwide, 8.2% more than last year. This is the sharpest increase in five years. The total wealth of billionaires grew by 12.8% to 15.1 trillion dollars, driven primarily by the AI investment boom.
The New York-based data provider Altrata 2025 counted 151 billionaires in Russia. This places Russia in fourth place worldwide in terms of the number of billionaires for the second year in a row. Ahead of Russia are the U.S. with 1,265 billionaires, China (363), and Germany, whose ranks of billionaires grew by 20% to 221 members—faster than in any other of the 15 countries with the most billionaires.
The richest Germans—Reinhold Würth (36 billion euros), Dieter Schwarz (33.7 billion euros), and the recently deceased Klaus-Michael Kühne (33.4 billion euros) all rank ahead of the richest Russian, Alexei Mordashov, according to the Forbes real-time list.
Sources: Bloomberg (EN); Handelsblatt; Kommersant, Forbes, Vedomosti, RBC (all RU)
Source: German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade, “Russia’s Financial Elite Is Getting Poorer,” September 1, 2026.
This article was prepared for the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade.