MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. Russia's richest businessmen have become $38.575 billion richer since the beginning of this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In particular, since the beginning of the year, the founder of oil major Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov, has added $9.14 billion to his net worth, which now stands at $24.5 billion. Co-founder of EuroChem and SUEK Andrey Melnichenko increased his fortune by $4.03 billion to $17.2 billion. Former vice-president of Lukoil Leonid Fedun added $3.89 billion to his net worth, now up to $9.76 billion.

The biggest tumble came from a member of the Federation Council from the Republic of Dagestan and entrepreneur Suleiman Kerimov, who purged $650 million putting him at $8.34 billion. Kerimov did not respond to requests from Bloomberg to comment on his money woes.

Since March 2012, the agency has been publishing the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which includes information on the wealth of the 500 richest people on the planet. In particular, the index is calculated taking into account the value of their companies’ shares.