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Three Russians enter Forbes list of 2018 biggest billionaire winners

Those are president and co-owner of Russian oil major Lukoil Vagit Alekperov and Russian businessmen Leonid Mikhelson (and Gennady Timchenko

President and co-owner of Lukoil Vagit Alekperov Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TAS

President and co-owner of Lukoil Vagit Alekperov

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TAS

NEW YORK, December 21. /TASS/. The Russian businessmen entered the Forbes list of the world’s richest people. The list of the 2018 Biggest Billionaire Winners and Losers was published at the Forbes website on Friday.

Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos, who earned $27.9 bln this year and whose fortune totals $127.2 bln, tops the list, remaining the richest man on the planet.

Japanese entrepreneur Tadashi Yanai, founder of the Uniqlo retail chain, ranks second. He earned $7 bln over the past year and his net worth is $27.1 billion).

President and co-owner of Russian oil major Lukoil Vagit Alekperov ranks third. In 2018 he added $4.6 bln to his fortune which is $19.5 bln).

He is followed American media mogul Rupert Murdoch (earned $4.6 bln in a year, net worth $19.3 bln) and two more Russian businessmen - Leonid Mikhelson (earned $4 bln in 2018, net worth $21.4 bln) and Gennady Timchenko (+$3.8 bln, net worth $18.9 billion).

They are followed by the former head of Microsoft Steve Ballmer (+$3.4 bln, net worth $40.7 bln), India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani (+$3 bln, net worth - $44.4 bln), Microsoft founder Bill Gates (+$ 2.9 bln, net worth $93.9 bln) and head of SpaceX and Tesla Elon Musk (+$2.8 bln, net worth $22.5 bln).

In total, the fortunes of all ten participants on the list grew by $64 bln this year, Forbes reports. However, for the last year’s participants in the ranking of the most successful billionaires, this figure was $204 bln.

Losers’ list

Forbes also published a list of the main losers of 2018, which is topped by head of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg. He lost $18.7 bln in 2018, reducing his fortune to $52.5 bln.

Zuckerberg was the only American listed on the list of billionaires whose capital decreased most of the year.

The list of losers also includes owner of the Spanish trading network Zara Amancio Ortega (-$16.2 bln, net worth $59.6 bln), owner of the German company Continental ("Continental") Georg Sheffler (-$14 bln, net worth $12.4 bln), Chinese businessman Ma Huateng (-$10.1 bln, net worth $35.1 bln), Spanish billionaire Carlos Slim Helu (-$9.3 bln, net worth $56.8 bln).

According to the magazine, to measure the fortunes Forbes used the time period between December 29, 2017 and December 17, 2018.

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The number of Russian-speaking authors on the Telegram also edged up by 15% year on year or by 2.2 mln to 15.7 mln users this March

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The Russian president said that this subject was of importance for all nations, as it significantly contributes to ensuring national security, social stability, and economic development

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Oksana Markarova explained that $4 billion worth of weapons that was to be provided under the previous decisions still remained undersupplied

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Roman Starovoit thanked air defense troops and the regional crisis center and cautioned residents against approaching the drone wreckage if found

Russia has significant amount of West’s funds in case of confiscation of its assets

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Leaders of delegations from ASEAN member states also participated in the conversation

Mobilization law condition for new supplies of arms to Kiev by NATO — source

Arms supplies are only reasonable if a large number of military personnel able to use those weapons in defense and assault operations is available

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Israel retaliates missile launches from Gaza Strip — IDF

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NATO makes Russia its neighbor by expanding eastward, Russian envoy says

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed that increased payments to the bloc’s budget were the cost of having Russia as a neighbor

Russian-Kazakh commission discusses border demarcation issues

The next meeting of the commission will be held in Moscow in May

Azerbaijanian leader says reaching peace with Armenia by November 'quite realistic'

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According to Yonhap news agency, the trip may be related to the two countries’ plans to boost military ties

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Yury Chikhanchin pointed out that the perpetrators of the attack were provided with money, weapons, transportation and ammunition

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Russia recovers black boxes from crashed Tu-22M3 bomber

According to the law enforcement, the search for the fourth crew member is ongoing

One more Ukrainian drone shot down over Belgorod Region — defense ministry

The Kiev regime’s attempted terrorist attack on facilities in Russia’s territory with the use of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle was thwarted

Ukrainian military’s shelling leaves two civilians wounded in DPR in past day

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Verkhovna Rada legislator Alexey Goncharenko said on Monday that the UK had granted its agrement to the Ukrainian former Commander-in-Chief

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Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated that China "is not an instigator or a party to the Ukrainian crisis and has never fanned the flames of the conflict, not to mention, used the situation for its own purposes"

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Biden administration raking it in from Ukrainian conflict — North Korean diplomat

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Minister Sergey Shoigu was also informed beforehand, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

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US stops hiding true purpose of sanctions on Moscow, Russian envoy says

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Destroyed TV tower in Kharkov carried Ukrainian air defense coordination device — official

Digital TV signal interruptions are now observed in the city

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