A devastating financial crisis is taking its toll on Russia’s wealthy population. The rich has seen drastic cuts in net value, especially billionaires whose assets have been cut in half in most cases.
Oleg Deripaska, an automotive and aluminum tycoon, was the richest man in Russia until the recent financial crisis. After the Russian stock market collapsed, Deripaska became in debt of over $20 billion.
Other tycoons were hit hard as well. Vladimir Potanin in the metals and media industry lost a fortune. Mikhail Fridman in the banking, oil and retail industries also felt the wrath of the financial crisis.
According to Finans Magazine, the business magazine or Russia, Russia’s richest man is Mikhail Prokhorov, with a fortune of $14.1 billion. was formerly a major shareholder of Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s biggest mining company, but he sold his 25% stake in Norilsk last April, after disagreements with his long-time partner Potanin, bagging $8 billion in cash. So, he was sitting on a pile of cash for a rainy day that came with the financial crisis.
However, with great fortune in Russia comes the emergence of corruption, greed and embezzlement. After Finans published its story on the effect of the financial crisis on Russia’s richest, Russian prosecutors announced that they plan to bring new charges of theft and embezzlement against Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the oil company Yukos.
Khodorkovsky could now face time behind bars. This makes even those who lost fortunes because of the financial crisis feel lucky. Better to be poor and honest than free and behind bars.
Julianne Kriner
Team Russia
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