MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. Forbes magazine has published the 32nd annual list of the world’s richest people.
The founder of Amazon, Jeffrey Preston Bezos, occupies the top position on the list with the personal wealth of $112.0 bln. Standing next is Bill Gates with $90.0 bln
The ranking includes the names of 103 wealthiest Russians, whose aggregate capital totals $414 bln.
Forbes began to rank Russian citizens as of 1997, when it included in its list Vladimir Potanin [Uneximbank], Vagit Alekperov [LUKoil], Mikhail Khodorkovsky [YUKOS], Vladimir Gusinsky [MOST Group], Rem Vyakhirev [Gazprom], and Boris Berezovsky [then Secretary of Russia’s Security Council].
The Forbes’s ranking contained the biggest number of Russian citizens - 111 persons - in 2014. The Russians occupied 62 positions there in 2010, 96 positions in 2011, 101 positions in 2012, 110 positions in 2013, 88 positions in 2015, 77 positions in 2016, and 96 positions in 2017.
Russian billionaires’ combined wealth reached the peak in 2008. It stood at $459.5 bln shortly before the outbreak of the harsh global financial crisis.
Vladimir Lisin, the president of the NLMK steel company, emerged again as the richest Russian in 2018 with $19.1 bln [57th ranking on the global list], up $3.0 bln versus 2017.
Alexei Mordashov, the owner of Severstal company [60th position globally] is number two with $18.7 bln - up $1.2 bln compared with a year ago.
Last year’s leader of the ‘Russian list’, Leonid Mikhelson, the co-owner Novatek natural gas producer and Sibur holding company, turned up number three among the wealthiest Russians. His capital grew $0.4 bln to reach $18.0 bln. He has the 60th position globally.
Other Russians among the Top 100 richest people of the world are Vagit Alekperov [78th position, $16.4 bln], Gennady Timchenko, the main owner of Volga group [82th position, $16.0 bln], Interros company president Vladimir Potanin [83rd position, $15.9 bln], the main owner of EuroChem Andrei Melnichenko [88th position, $15.5 bln], the founder of Alpha group Mikhail Fridman [93rd position, $15.1 bln], and Skolkovo foundation president Viktor Vekselberg [99th place, $14.4 bln].
Sergei Galitsky, the former biggest co-owner of the Magnit retail network is the leader among those whose capital shrank compared with last year. He lost $2.8 bln and currently has $4.0 bln, plummeting to the 550th position from the 202nd one.
USM Holding president Alisher Usmanov lost $ 2.7 bln compared with 2017. For the first time since 2010, he is not among the Top 100 billionaires [118th place, $12.5 bln]. State Duma deputy Andrei Skoch is number three among those whose assets thinned last year. He has $4.9 bln at present, down $2.0 bln from a year ago. He is also down to the 404th global position from the 201st one previously.
The owner of the largest wealth among the eleven Russian newcomers is Alexei Repik, the founder of R-Farm pharmaceutical company [$2.1 bln].
Five persons who were absent in the Forbes ranking since 2014 have made a comeback. They are the president of Tuloma investment company Andrei Filatov, the co-owner of Moscow’ Domodedovo airport Valery Kogan, the co-owners of N-Trans group Nikita Mishin and Konstantin Nikolayev [each of these persons having $1.1 bln], and the co-owner of Rolf group of companies Sergei Petrov [$1.0 bln].
Eight Russians have left the Forbes list of billionaires.