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Ulviyya Poladova

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The combined wealth of Russia’s richest businessmen has fallen by $19.77 billion since the beginning of 2026, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, which tracks the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest individuals, partly based on changes in the value of their shareholdings.

Among Russian billionaires, Mikhail Prokhorov recorded the biggest decline. His fortune has dropped by $6.45 billion to around $10.1 billion. Vladimir Potanin, president of Norilsk Nickel, saw his wealth fall by $3.73 billion to $22.7 billion.

Alisher Usmanov, a shareholder in Russian iron ore producer Metalloinvest, lost $2.92 billion, bringing his estimated fortune to $16.3 billion. Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, also saw his wealth decline, losing $2.56 billion to $11.8 billion.

At the same time, several Russian billionaires increased their fortunes during the year. Alexei Mordashov, founder of Severstal, recorded the largest gain, with his wealth rising by $1.43 billion to $27.7 billion.

He was followed by Gennady Timchenko, whose fortune increased by $853 million to $15.1 billion. Leonid Mikhelson, head of Novatek, added $460 million, taking his wealth to $24.1 billion. Dmitry Rybolovlev’s fortune grew by $319 million to $10.1 billion, while UMMC founder Iskander Makhmudov gained $198 million, bringing his estimated wealth to $8.07 billion.

Despite the losses recorded by some of its wealthiest citizens, Russia remains one of the countries with the largest number of billionaires worldwide. According to Altrata, Russia ranked fourth globally by the number of billionaires at the end of 2025, with 151 people holding fortunes of more than $1 billion. Their combined wealth was estimated at $549 billion.

Image: Dado Ruvic / Reuters