10 billionaires fail to make Russian rich list

ONE billion dollars is no longer enough to gain entry to Russia’s rich list.

Ten billionaires failed to make Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 100 richest Russians that is led by those who built their fortunes on the country’s metals resources.

Oleg Deripaska, who controls aluminum producer United Company RUSAL among a host of infrastructure, energy and financial assets, tops the latest Forbes list with a fortune of $28.6bn (€18.2bn) — $11.8bn (€7.5bn) more than he was worth last year.

Deripaska replaces Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich, who drops to third. The two are split by Alexei Mordashov, majority owner of Severstal (CHMF.MM), Russia’s largest steel maker.

“After the bankruptcy of YUKOS and the strengthening of the state’s position in the energy sector, you can count on one hand the number of oil and gas billionaires,” editor of Forbes’ Russian edition Maxim Kashulinsky said.

“The main fortunes are concentrated now in metallurgy, finance and property.”

Mordashov was the biggest gainer among Russia’s richest people, adding $12.4bn (€7.8bn) to more than double his fortune to $24.5bn (€15.6bn).

Abramovich, in third place, is worth $24.3bn (€15.4bn).

Another steel baron, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMKq.L) owner Vladimir Lisin, is fourth with a fortune of $23.9bn (€15.2bn).

Forbes said that Russia’s richest 100 people had a combined fortune of $522bn (€332bn) — 3.8 times more than the total when Forbes first published a Russian list in 2004.

Russia has 50 more billionaires than a year ago — 110 compared with 60. This year $1.1bn (€698 million) was required to break into the top 100, compared with $660m (€419m) a year ago.

Another reason for the increase in dollar billionaires, Forbes said, was the fall in the value of the currency.

Meanwhile, Boris Berezovsky, 62, launched a claim worth around £2bn (€2.5bn) against fellow Russian oligarch Abramovich at the High Court in London yesterday.

Lawyers for the pair, who were not in court, began preliminary skirmishes over the exact form of the allegations made by Berezovsky.

He is suing the 41-year-old Chelsea boss over claims that he was forced to sell shares in Russian oil company Sibneft, aluminium giant Rusal and the country’s central TV channel ORT at a gross undervalue after being put under duress and intimidated.

But Andrew Popplewell QC, representing Abramovich, told Judge David Mackie QC that the claims were “hopeless” and he would be considering making an application to have the action struck out because it had no realistic chance of success.

Popplewell said Berezovsky was claiming he was intimidated into selling Sibneft shares at an undervalue by threats made by Abramovich. These threats included pressure from Abramovich that if the shares were not sold, they would be expropriated by the Kremlin.

The case was later adjourned.