Abramovich slips down Russia’s rich list

Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich is no longer one of Russia’s three richest men after being outranked by oligarchs who benefited from recovering oil and commodity prices, a report said yesterday.

The 2011 rich list compiled by Moscow’s Finans magazine put Mr Abramovich’s wealth at $17.1 billion, up only $100 million in a strong year that saw some of Russia’s other 114 billionaires make dramatic gains.

Vladimir Lisin, the publicity-shy owner of the Novolipetsk Steel giant, retained his position as Russia’s wealthiest man, seeing his fortune soar to $28.3 billion from $18.8 billion in 2010.

He was followed by Onexim investment fund owner Mikhail Prokhorov at $22.7 billion and Alisher Usmanov, the part-owner of Arsenal Football Club, whose wealth was estimated by Finans at $19.9 billion.

Mr Abramovich slipped to fifth behind Oleg Deripaska, the majority shareholder in steel maker UC Rusal whose empire was worth $19 billion, Finans said. Russia’s biggest tycoons – many of whom made their fortunes in the chaotic privatisations of the 1990s and then accrued major political influence – were hit hard by the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008.

But the country’s billionaires have been making a steady recovery, with their ranks swelling from 49 to 77 in 2010.

Each of the 500 people on the 2011 list was worth at least $160 million, the report said.

The top 100 had only one woman – Yelena Baturina, wife of the deposed mayor of Moscow, who slipped 47 positions to 94th place.

Owner of a major construction company that allegedly benefited from its close ties with the mayor’s office, Mrs Baturina was still worth $1.1 billion, the magazine said.

Finans said that Mr Abram­ovich, owner of the Millhouse LLC investment company, had slipped out of the top three because he has “many ‘social’ obligations to people loyal to (Prime Minister Vladimir) Putin and the government as a whole.”

It noted that Mr Abramovich has been called on in the past to help finance various Russian construction projects.

Seen as Russia’s de facto leader, Mr Putin said in November that he expected to see Russia’s biggest billionaires help build the many stadiums the country will need to host the 2018 World Cup.

Private support has also played a role in Russia’s efforts to turn the Black Sea resort town of Sochi into a wonderland capable of hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Finans noted that Mr Abram­ovich was also hurt by the weak recovery of the European property market.

A spokesman for Mr Abram­ovich refused to comment on the report.

Finans noted that Russia’s metal magnates were the strongest performers on the year, with the rankings also including a broader list of IT billionaires.

Yevgeny Kaspersky, famous for his own brand of anti-virus software, came in 169th with wealth estimated at $650 million.

Gregory Finger and Yury Milner, the co-directors of the Mail.ru website, were ranked 105th and 228th.