Russia’s richest lose billions due to coronavirus

by   CIJ News iDesk V
2020-08-07   12:25
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As the pandemic hit gas and oil markets, the country’s energy billionaires have watched their fortunes shrink, with two of them making Bloomberg's the top 10 global losers list. The pandemic cut the net worth of Leonid Mikhelson, the founder and chairman of natural gas producer Novatek, by $5.34 billion. He is now worth a measly $19.2 billion. Also Lukoil President and CEO Vagit Alekperov is now $5.18 billion poorer than he was a year ago and has just $17.1 billion worth of assets. The country’s richest person, Vladimir Potanin, who heads metals giant Norilsk Nickel, saw his $28 billion fortune reduced by $1.56 billion. Despite the coronavirus crisis, some Russian billionaires have seen their fortunes rise. Alisher Usmanov’s net worth has increased by over $1.9 billion since the beginning of the year, hitting $18.6 billion. Usmanov is the founder of USM, a private holding company that controls Russian mining and metallurgy firm Metalloinvest, among others.