MOSCOW, 1st July, 2024 (WAM) -- The combined net worth of the wealthiest Russian entrepreneurs has risen by US$28.749 billion since the start of 2024.
The founder and former beneficiary of fertiliser producer EuroChem Group, Andrey Melnichenko, achieved the largest increase as his net worth jumped by US$5.76 billion to US$24.6 billion, according to calculations made by the Russian news agency Sputnik, based on data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI).
Vladimir Potanin, the chief executive and main shareholder of the Nornickel metallurgical company, continues to remain the wealthiest Russian billionaire on the list, with his net worth having increased by US$902 million to US$32 billion. He is followed by Vagit Alekperov, a co-owner of Russia's Lukoil oil company, with a gain of US$3.54 billion, which brought his total wealth to US$28.2 billion. Vladimir Lisin, a major shareholder in Russia's NLMK steel company, is the third-wealthiest billionaire on the list with a gain of US$3.24 billion, bringing his total wealth to US$27.2 billion.
Leonid Mikhelson, the co-owner of Russia's second-largest natural gas producer, Novatek, whose worth declined by US$1.61 billion to US$25.8 billion, took the fourth place on the list. Alexey Mordashov, the co-owner of Russia's largest steel and mining company Severstal, moved up to the fifth place with a US$25.6 billion net worth, up US$4.71 billion. Melnichenko remains in the sixth spot.
Alisher Usmanov of the Megafon mobile operator and the Metalloinvest mining company has remained seventh with a US$19.2 billion net worth, down US$1.86 billion. The eighth place is still held by Mikhail Prokhorov, the founder of the Onexim Group investment fund, with a net worth of US$17.6 billion, a US$1.84 billion increase, followed by Mikhail Fridman, a co-founder of the Alfa Group financial conglomerate, whose net worth grew by US$1.49 billion to US$13.8 billion.
Businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev, a member of the Ligue de Football Professionnel's (LFP) board of directors, rounded out the top 10 with a US$816 million wealth increase to US$12.4 billion.
Gennady Timchenko, who owns shares in energy companies Novatek and Sibur, dropped to eleventh place, experienced the sharpest decline in wealth, by US$2.85 billion to US$11.3 billion.
The BBI is calculated based on the value of the shares of the companies in which billionaires have stakes. For some firms, the calculation is based on the ratio of their market capitalisation to EBITDA or share price to earnings per share. The index includes the 500 richest people worldwide, and currently 25 of them are Russian citizens. Their combined net worth is estimated at US$354.99 billion as of 1st July.