The Russian invasion was an instant financial gain for several billionaires, from oligarchs who bought Western companies on the cheap to Russian merchants whose sales soared.
Since Russian troops entered Ukraine in late February 2022, cities across the country have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people have died, and the global economy has been disrupted.
And while many lives were destroyed, some people became richer because of the war, either directly or indirectly. At the top of the list are sanctioned Russian oligarchs, many of whom own companies deeply involved in Vladimir Putin’s war effort: Russian research firm Proekt reported in July 2023 that 81 Russian tycoons – including 63 members of this year’s Forbes list of the world’s billionaires – supplied the Russian military-industrial complex, winning nearly three billion dollars in public contracts with the Russian defense industry between the occupation of Crimea in 2014 and 2023.
There are now a record 120 Russians on the 2024 Forbes list, up from 105 in 2023, including 19 first-timers. Together they are worth 537 billion dollars, 13% more than last year. 55 of them – including the richest person in Russia, oil and gas magnate Vagit Alekperov – have been sanctioned by the United States (U.S.), Great Britain or the European Union (EU). Of those 55, 37 have increased in wealth over the past year. Only 24 Russians are poorer than they were in 2023, including only nine sanctioned oligarchs.
The three sanctioned oligarchs – Arsen Kanokov, Vladislav Sviblov and Ivan Tavrin – are newcomers to the list. Tavrin is one of at least 11 new Russian billionaires who owe part of their wealth to an exodus of Western companies in 2022 after the sanctions are imposed.
There are now a record 120 Russians on the 2024 Forbes list, up from 105 in 2023, including 19 first-timers. Together they are worth 537 billion dollars, 13% more than last year. 55 of them – including the richest person in Russia, oil and gas magnate Vagit Alekperov – have been sanctioned by the U.S., Great Britain or the EU. Of those 55, 37 have increased in wealth over the past year. Only 24 Russians are poorer than they were in 2023, including only nine sanctioned oligarchs.
The three sanctioned oligarchs – Arsen Kanokov, Vladislav Sviblov and Ivan Tavrin – are newcomers to the list. Tavrin is one of at least 11 new Russian billionaires who owe part of their wealth to an exodus of Western companies in 2022 after the sanctions are imposed.
It was not only the Russians who profited. As Ukraine fought to defend its territory, foreigners from countries like the Czech Republic and Turkey also profited by helping Kyiv. Czech billionaire Michal Strnad and his Czechoslovak Group is one of the biggest arms suppliers to the Ukrainian military, while Turkish military drone maker Baykar – owned by new billionaires Seljuk and Haluk Bayraktar – saw its exports soar after its Bayraktar TB2 drone helped Ukrainian troops to reverse the situation on the battlefield in 2022.
In sharp contrast, the wealth of billionaires from Ukraine fell 19% compared to 2023. Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov (owner of the $4 billion mining and metals company Metinvest), suffered another blow when Russian forces captured the town of Avdivka in February, leaving his coke factory in ruins.
Here are the new members and returnees to the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires (by net worth) who grew richer by supplying one or both sides, buying up war-torn assets cheaply or for lack of competition as foreign competitors fled Russia:
George Procopiou and family
The Greek shipowner owns a fleet of oil and natural gas tankers. His company Dynacom Tankers was one of the largest carriers of Russian oil at the end of 2023.
Ivan Tavrin
His Kismet Capital Group was part of a consortium that bought the Russian assets of consumer products giant Henkel in April. The price was just over $660 million, at least 50% below market value. The U.S. sanctioned him in December, along with his firm Kismet, calling him “one of Russia’s biggest war profiteers since the start of Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine.”
Haluk Bayraktar
Brothers Haluk and Seljuk – the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – run Baykar, a manufacturer of unmanned military drones. Their most famous export product, the Bayraktar TB2, was used by Ukrainian troops with such success that it inspired a popular folk song.
Arsen Kanokov
Kanokov owns a large real estate portfolio in Russia and was involved in the takeover of McDonald’s and Starbucks locations in Russia, after the American brands left after the start of the war. He has been a member of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, since 2014. He was sanctioned by the U.S. along with 168 of his colleagues in that body in September 2022.
Denis Frolov
Frolov’s Astra Group went public in Moscow in October, successfully raising $36 million. Revenue at the company, which provides critical digital infrastructure to the Russian government and military, grew 39% to $106 million in 2023. Astra also benefits from Western companies, such as Microsoft, suspending their services to the country.
