According to the Forbes Russia list published that day, the richest man in Russia was aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska with a fortune of $28.6 billion. Second place went to steel magnate Alexei Mordashov with $24.5 billion, who surpassed Abramovich for the first time. Abramovich himself, who had previously topped the list, moved to third place.
Forbes Russia editor-in-chief Maxim Kashulinsky, in an interview with The Guardian, explained Abramovich's decline in the ranking by his decision to sell the oil company Sibneft to state-owned Gazprom in 2005.
"Abramovich is sitting on a pile of cash, while other billionaires such as Deripaska and Mordashov own successful companies that continue to grow," Kashulinsky said. "The overall growth in the list is explained not by oil and gas, but by metals," he added.
According to the survey, the combined assets of the 100 richest Russians grew from $138 billion in 2004 to $522 billion in 2008, reflecting Russia's return as a leading global economic player.
Putin and the Forbes List
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was due to leave office on May 7, was not on the list. In December 2007, The Guardian and other newspapers reported claims by political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky that Putin had secretly accumulated a fortune of $40 billion. Belkovsky alleged that Putin was the beneficial owner of "more than 75%" of Gunvor, a mysterious Swiss oil trader, as well as 37% of Surgutneftegas and 4.5% of Gazprom. Last month, at a Kremlin press conference, Putin denied these claims for the first time.
Kashulinsky said the magazine did not include Putin on the list because it does not count the fortunes of "bureaucrats" and "civil servants." "I don't believe he has large assets," he said. However, he added: "There are some friends of Putin on the list who became billionaires in recent years."
New Names
The highest-ranking newcomer was Gennady Timchenko, the Swiss co-owner of Gunvor, who is now Russia's largest oil exporter. His fortune was estimated at $2.5 billion. Last December, Gunvor denied that Putin was the beneficial owner of the company, but confirmed for the first time that Putin and Timchenko were old friends.
Kashulinsky suggested that Timchenko's fortune had grown steadily over two decades. "He started exporting oil in the 1990s. Over the past decade, his company has become Russia's largest oil exporter. This [his wealth] is understandable," he said. Asked whether friendship with Putin could have helped Timchenko become a billionaire, he replied: "Probably... If you look at others who are not Putin's friends, they are not as rich."
Several other Russian businessmen also significantly increased their fortunes. Among them was Dmitry Rybolovlev, the potash fertilizer baron and Russia's 13th richest man, whose fortune grew by a staggering $10 billion in a year. "This is due to the huge growth in demand for fertilizers on the global market," Kashulinsky said. Alisher Usmanov, a Russian businessman of Uzbek origin who owns 24% of Arsenal Football Club, now ranks 19th with assets of $9.5 billion.
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