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[Khodorsky]How the ‘Golden Horde’ hoarded its way to top of Russia’s rich list
From Clem Cecil in Moscow
ONE is in prison, one is a university professor and the favourite hobby of another is football.
They are members of Russia’s so-called
Golden Horde, who have earned a place in
Forbes’ first list of Russia’s 100
richest people.
Loathed by most
Russians, [see this website’s dossier on the origins of anti-Semitism] who see them as thieves of their natural resources, two thirds of the Golden Horde made their fortunes in minerals and enterprises inherited from the Soviet Union. The combined wealth of Russia’s oligarchs is equivalent to one quarter of Russia’s GDP; the combined net worth of all US billionaires equates to just 6 per cent of
America’s GDP.
According to Forbes, the glossy publications that track the lives of the world’s most successful tycoons, no other city in the world boasts as many billionaires as Moscow.
The list, published today, ranks
Mikhail Khodorkovsky as Russia’s richest man, though he is now languishing in prison and unable to enjoy the fruits of his fortune of $15.2 billion (£8.9
billion).
Forbes chose to count his stake in
Yukos, the Russian oil behemoth, even though the shares have been frozen by the state pending the outcome of his trial for fraud and theft. If he is found guilty he is likely to be stripped of his fortune.
Second in the Forbes list is Britain’s favourite Russian, Roman
Abramovich, whose $12.5 billion fortune has helped him bankroll Chelsea
Football Club.
Russia’s most eligible bachelor, according to Forbes, is Mikhail
Prokhorov, number four on the list with a relatively modest $5.4 billion. Mr
Prokhorov, 38, is head of the metals conglomerate Norilsk Nickel, which is based in Siberia. Although his fortune comes from the frozen ground of Russia’s north, he is more likely to be seen at parties on the French Riviera.
Forbes has also calculated the cost of supporting the lifestyle of a Russian billionaire. “For the private yacht, airplane, property in Moscow, apartment in
London, you are looking at a $161 million capital investment,” said Pavel
Khlebnikov, Editor of the
Russian-language edition of
Forbes.
“Operating expenses are about $9
million, including security services, a driver and maintaining a mistress.”
Russia’s
oligarchs came to prominence in 1997
after the country’s loans-for-shares
auction in which entrepreneurs lent the
cash-strapped Government money in
exchange for shares in the biggest
enterprises. The state could not afford
to buy back the shares and was thus
stripped of many of its most profitable
businesses, largely in the field of
natural resources.
In a man’s world, one Russian woman stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the tycoons. She is Elena Baturina –
wife of Yuri Luzhkov, the Mayor of
Moscow – whose fortune comes from construction in the capital.
Mr Khlebnikov believes that many of
Russia’s billionaires are already becoming bored with their new-found wealth and high living and exhausted by the chaos of
Russia’s newly fledged market, and are turning their attention to more philosophical pursuits.
Thus, Vladimir Lisin, net worth
$4.8 billion, a former steel mill mechanic who now owns a majority stake in the giant
Novolipetsk steel mill, has retired from business to run a university course. He is probably the world’s richest professor.
The secrets of Russia’s billionaires are often murkier than their Western counterparts. Mr Khlebnikov believes that many businessmen overestimate their wealth.
… on the, ahem, oligarchs
Police raid Sörös office as oil billionaire is refused bail
Arrested oil tycoon passed shares to banker
Greek court rejects Gusinsky extradition
Russian fraudster Boris Berezovsky granted asylum by Tony Blair’s
government
Letter
Reuters reports that The World Jewish Congress asked Interpol not to arrest Jewish
Russian media magnate Vladimir
Gusinsky
Apr 25, 2001: Russian media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky has flown from Spain to Israel, apparently in a new bid
to escape the clutches of href=”http://www.yukos.com/cc/sponsorships/open_russia/default.asp” target=”_blank”>First
Moscow prosecutors
Outrage in Berlin
Conservative
German politician claims Jews are “a
Race of Perpetrators”
Outrage in New
York Billionaire
George Soros shocks Jewish elite, says
Bush, Sharon to blame for global rise in anti-Semitism
Forward:
Kremlin Targets Jewish Tycoons in War on Critics
Russian International Corporate
Philanthropic
Foundation
(of Khodorkovsky and Rothschild): “I am launching the Foundation [First
Russian International Corporate
Philanthropic Foundation] in London to highlight the international nature of the Foundation’s aims and to create an infrastructure from which the next generation of Russia’s leaders will emerge.”