Forbes: Rise of Russian Billionaires Despite Sanctions

The Russian edition of Forbes reported that Russia's wealthiest individuals added $152 billion to their fortunes over the past year, benefiting from rising natural resource prices and recovering from significant losses incurred immediately after the onset of the Ukrainian war. It noted that "the list could have been longer had five billionaires not renounced their Russian citizenship." Furthermore, it mentioned that "the results of last year's ranking were also affected by alarming forecasts regarding the Russian economy." It clarified that "the total wealth of Russian billionaires reached $606 billion in 2021, before the war began." After Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to Ukraine on February 24 of the past year, the West imposed what it described as the harshest sanctions on the Russian economy and some of the richest Russians in modern history in an attempt to punish Putin for the war.