Millionaires, billionaires and oligarchs of Russia

How many oligarchs in Russia, perhaps even employees of Forbes will be difficult to calculate: the country is large and the number of dollar millionaires in it is increasing every year. However, in the TOP of the richest people in the Russian Federation, from year to year, the same people are fighting for the first place. So who are they - the Russian billionaires?

Oligarchs of Russia: photo, biography of Vladimir Potanin

In 2015, Vladimir Potanin was recognized as the richest man in Russia . In the oligarchs of Russia Potanin made his way back in 2006: then the businessman became the sixth person in the country in terms of well-being. In 2007, the president of the holding "Interros" rose to the 4th place. Then, for several years, he lost his position in the top five of the richest people in the country, until in 2015 he reached the first place in the ranking of Forbes.

Potanin once studied in MGIMO at the Faculty of International Economic Relations. In Soviet times, the future businessman was a member of the Komsomol and worked in the foreign trade of the USSR.

In the 90 years, like many enterprising people, Potanin moved to private business and founded one of the largest investment companies in Russia - Interros. A little later, Vladimir Olegovich received the post of vice-president of the bank "IFC" and the president of JSCB "ONEXIM Bank". Thanks to pledge auctions in 1995, ONEXIM Bank became the owner of 51 percent of the shares of Norilsk Nickel. To date, Potanin's disposal is only 30.3% stake in MMC, but this was enough to turn into the richest oligarch of Russia by 2015.

Mikhail Fridman

The list of Russia's oligarchs has consistently for many years included the owner of the consortium Alfa Group Mikhail Fridman. In 2015, Fridman took second place in the Forbes rating as the richest businessman in Russia.

And it all started with the fact that in the 1980s Mr. Fridman resold deficit tickets to major Moscow theaters, and also organized discotheques. Then he decided to increase his incomes and created a cooperative "Courier", which was engaged in washing windows. In 1989, Mr .. Friedman moved to the sale of photographic materials and computer equipment, and then started exporting oil. So the company "Alfa-Group" appeared, which to this day feeds its creator.

But Fridman did not stop at what has been achieved and eventually joined the board of directors of Alfa Bank, he invested in the mobile operator Life, Belmarket and BelEvroset. And also Fridman had time to visit the board of directors of the association "ORT" and the oil company "SIDANKO".

The personal capital of Mikhail Fridman in 2015 amounted to 14.6 billion dollars.

Alisher Usmanov

The oligarchs of Russia often engage in charity. In this regard, Alisher Usmanov is widely known, who for many years supports the Russian team in rhythmic gymnastics, buys out and returns historical values to Russia and even returns Nobel medals to their owners (the case of Jason Watson). In 2013, Usmanov even became a patron of the number 1 among Russian businessmen according to Forbes.

For three years (from 2012 to 2014) Usmanov held the title of the richest businessman in Russia. But in 2015 he changed the first place to the third: his personal fortune decreased from 18 billion dollars to 14.4.

Alisher Burhanovich started his career with the production of plastic bags. Today, the businessman is fed shares in companies such as USM Holdings, Megafon, Mail.ru Group and DST Global, as well as UTV Holding. Since 2014, Alisher Usmanov has full control over the famous social network - VKontakte.

Viktor Vekselberg

The oligarchs of Russia fall not only in the domestic ratings of influential persons, but also in foreign lists. Viktor Vekselberg, for example, was on the 113th place in the TOP of the most influential and wealthy people in the world as of 2010. In 2015, in Russia, the businessman took the fourth place in terms of wealth: Vekselberg's personal assets are $ 14.2 billion.

Enormous state of Viktor Feliksovich allowed to earn the company he founded, "Renova". Over time, the company has grown into a large business group that owns shares in UC Rusal, Integrated Energy Systems, Russian Communal Systems and many others. Vekselberg also owns shares of some Swiss companies, for example, Oerlikon and Sulzer.

Vekselberg likes to repeat in an interview that money is not only difficult to earn, but it is also difficult to properly use them. Given the stability of the entrepreneur's income, he can properly allocate his funds.

Alexey Mordashov

Alexei Mordashov, who is considered the actual owner of OAO Severstal, was in second place in 2011 the richest businessmen of the country. However, the oligarchs of Russia pushed the businessman on the list, and in 2015 he takes only the fifth place with his personal capital of $ 13 billion.

Mordashov began his career at the Cherepovets Metallurgical Combine. After a while, the businessman already bought all the shares of CMP and put all the profits from selling metals to the West in his pocket. To date, the entrepreneur has a 79% stake in Severstal, 88% - Nord Gold and 100% - Power Machines.

Vagit Alekperov

Vagit Alekperov in 2006 had personal capital of 12.7 billion rubles and ranked second in the Forbes rating of Russia's richest businessmen. Since then, little has changed: Alekperov has all the same capital, but dropped to the sixth position in the list.

His career in business Vagit Yusufovich began in the 1980s, taking up the post of general director of Kogalymneftegaz. The entrepreneur did not abandon the oil industry after the collapse of the Soviet Union and founded the concern "LangepasUrayKogalymneft". To date, Vagit Alekperov has a 22.7% stake in Lukoil and, so to speak, is not in poverty.

Billionaires are not only enriched, but at times they are ruined. Every year the list under the name "former oligarchs of Russia" is replenished with new faces. Among them are such personalities as banker Sergei Pugachev, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Some ruined billionaires are on the wanted list for embezzlement and appropriation of property. They immigrate abroad, file suits in European courts and try to defend their name in the press, claiming that Russian authorities are to blame for all their troubles.

Business and politics have always been interconnected, in these areas there is always a hidden and obvious confrontation. Everyone defends their interests in every possible way. Therefore, no one really knows the real truth.