In one year, the number of dollar billionaires has increased from 25 to 39. Top of the list is, as one year ago, the governor of Chukotka Roman Abramovich, having 11.5 billion dollars. Oleg Deripaska now ranks second (8.4 billion dollars) - he is the only owner of the holding Basic Element-Russian Aluminium. At the end of the top-trio list is Alfa-group head Mikhail Fridman (8 billion dollars).
As is customarily believed, the richest men in Russia are oilmen. This is not true, half of the first ten in this list are co-owners of steel-making companies.
Meanwhile, Victor Vexelberg owes his 6.3-billion-dollar wealth to both oil (TNK-BP) and steel (Sual-holding). Before him comes "pure steel-maker" Vladimir Lisin, owner of the Novolipetsk steel-making combine (6.7 billion dollars).
The sixth is Vladimir Yevtushenkov (6 billion dollars), the first representative from outside the raw-materials sectors. His capital is made up of indirect ownership (via the AFK Sistema) of MTS, MGTS, Scientific Center concern blocks of shares.
Surgutneftegaz general director Vladimir Bogdanov (5.4 billion dollars) is the seventh.
The next is Alexei Mordashov (5 billion dollars), general director of the Severstal-group.
Norilsk Nickel co-owners Mikhail Prokhorov (4.3 billion dollars) and Vladimir Potanin (4.3 billion dollars) are the ninth and tenth, respectively.
The elite dozen, whose wealth the Finans estimates at over 2 billion dollars, now ranks Alisher Usmanov (Mikhailovski GOK and Tulachermet block of shares) with 2.6 billion dollars among them.
The wealth of the main share-holders of the Magnitogorsk steel-making combine is: Victor Rashnikov (2.6 billion dollars), Vyacheslav Yegorov (1.3 billion dollars), Andrei Morozov (1.3 billion dollars).
Figuring in every list of entrepreneurial influence, Gazprom head Alexei Miller stands somewhere below the one-billion-dollar threshold, provided he has no secret property. Likewise, the list lacks Anatoli Chubais, chairman of the board of RAO Russia's UES, who officially owns a mere several million dollars.
