The list of individuals include the richest person in Russia – Vladimir Potanin, the Russian oligarch, who was also the first deputy prime minister of Russia. His wealth slumped by about $3 billion and his net worth stood at $26.1 billion.
Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine had financial consequences for the world as well as his own country. The richest individuals in Russia lost a combined wealth of nearly $39 billion within a day, according to the data from Bloomberg Billionaires index. The list of individuals include the richest person in Russia – Vladimir Potanin, the Russian oligarch, who was also the first deputy prime minister of Russia. His wealth slumped by about $3 billion and his net worth stood at $26.1 billion.
Apart from Potanin, Alexey Mordashov – chairman of steel company Severstal, and Vagit Alekperov – head of oil company LUKOIL, were among other prominent billionaires who lost money too. Mordashov and Alekperov lost wealth worth $4.16 billion and $6.16 billion, respectively.
LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov saw the biggest slump in his wealth amongst all the billionaires in Russia, with his net worth slipping to $13 billion. Shares of the Moscow-based oil producer dropped about 33% on Thursday.The second in line to lose the most was Alexey Mordashov. Shares of his company, which is listed on both Moscow Exchange and London Stock Exchange, also bore the brunt, and fell nearly 36%.
This came as Russia’s benchmark MOEX Russia Index erased $189 billion or 33% of shareholders’ wealth upon markets close on Thursday, the fifth-worst plunge in stock market history in local currency terms. It also marked the first time since 1987’s Black Monday crash that a decline of that magnitude hit a market worth more than $50 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Russia’s currency rouble was at an all time low of 89.60 against the dollar. And no Russian assets were left unscathed in heavy selling on Thursday, according to media reports. On Friday, shares recovered some losses and rouble climbed off the record lows.
A total of 22 Russian billionaires are listed on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and 21 of them lost wealth Thursday. The outlier was Andrey Melnichenko, who is an industrialist and philanthropist. His wealth increased by around $100 million.