Published: March 11, 2025 11:01 AM IST 
Vagit Alekperov, the former president of oil giant Lukoil, has topped the Forbes Billionaires List 2024 as Russia’s wealthiest individual. With a net worth of $28.6 billion, the 73-year-old industrialist surpassed fertiliser tycoon Andrei Melnichenko, whose net worth has declined from $25.2 billion to $21.1 billion, pushing him to seventh place on Russia’s billionaire rankings.
The combined wealth of Russia’s richest individuals surged by $72 billion in the past year, reaching a total of $577 billion. This is a significant recovery from 2022 when the collective wealth of Russian billionaires dropped to $353 billion due to Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
For comparison, before the conflict began in 2021, Russian billionaires’ total wealth was estimated at $606 billion. The recent growth in wealth has been fueled by high commodity prices and a war-driven economy, which has mitigated some of the adverse effects of Western sanctions.
Leonid Mikhelson, the head of natural gas producer Novatek, is now Russia’s second-richest person, with his net worth increasing by $5.8 billion to $27.4 billion. Globally, Alekperov ranks 59th on the Forbes Billionaires List, which now features a record 2,781 billionaires collectively worth $14.2 trillion an increase of $2 trillion from 2023.
Western sanctions targeted Russian billionaires as part of efforts to penalize President Vladimir Putin and his allies for the war in Ukraine. These measures initially caused a major decline in their fortunes. However, the economic resilience of Russia, driven by state-funded arms production and high energy prices, has allowed many billionaires to recover.
Russian oligarchs have also benefited from the exodus of Western corporations, which sold their assets at discounted prices or saw their Russian operations seized and handed over to local managers.
Russia’s economy has rebounded from its 2022 slump, with GDP growth of 3.6% last year, surpassing all Group of Seven (G7) nations. President Putin has frequently highlighted this as evidence of the failure of Western sanctions to cripple the Russian economy. However, the growth is heavily reliant on state spending for arms and ammunition and not resolving issues that continue to impact on living standards of the common people.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects a slower GDP growth of 2.6% for Russia in 2025. Challenges such as technological shortages and an exodus of skilled professionals are expected to weigh on the country’s long-term economic prospects.
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