A year ago, Russians Egor Kulkov, co-owner of pharmaceutical companies and junior partner of Viktor Kharitonin, and Denis Sverdlov, former Deputy Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications, who launched the electric car startup Arrival in the UK, entered the world ranking of billionaires for the first time. 2022 has been a different year for the two Forbes newcomers.
Kulkov, together with Kharitonin, tried to buy the Russian assets of the British-Austrian timber processing group Mondi for €1.5 billion, but the deal was not approved by the government commission for foreign investment control in Russia. In February 2023, the Ogment Investments Limited holding, associated with Kharitonin and Kulkov, acquired another asset in the timber processing industry – 100% of Kama, a manufacturer of coated cardboard and paper.
Sverdlov left in November 2022 the position of CEO of Arrival. The company, according to preliminary data, received a loss in the region of $1 billion at the end of the year, and the value of its shares has fallen 55 times since the beginning of 2022.
Sverdlov dropped out of the Forbes global rating, Kulkov’s capital estimate increased from $2 billion to $3 billion over the year.
This year, there are six new names from Russia in the world ranking of billionaires: Andrei Krivenko, Seifeddin Rustamov, Denis Shtengelov, Pavel Golubkov, Dmitry Nikolaev and Ivan Streshinsky. There could have been more newcomers, but Alexander Gerko, the founder of the British trading company XTX Markets, renounced Russian citizenship at the end of last year.
Andrey Krivenko
Place in Russia: 59
Place in the global ranking: 1434
Wealth: $2.1 billion
Capital: VkusVill
Age: 47 years old
Andrey Krivenko, the founder of the VkusVill retail chain, could have been included in the Forbes global ranking of billionaires last year. But this did not happen as a result of the fall in quotations of Russian retailers, as well as other companies traded on the stock exchange, after the start of the “special operation” * in Ukraine. In addition, a year and a half ago, The Wall Street Journal reported on VkusVill’s plans to place its shares on the stock exchange. But in June 2022, a representative of the retail network told RIA Novosti that plans for an IPO were suspended amid the current economic situation and sanctions against Russia. Nevertheless, VkusVill’s business continued to grow: in 2022, the company’s revenue increased by 25% to 203.4 billion rubles under RAS, and net profit exceeded 3 billion rubles.
Seifeddin Rustamov
Place in Russia: 90
Place in the global ranking: 2133
Wealth: $1.3 billion
Capital: Metafrax
Age: 60 years old
Seifeddin Rustamov, together with Dmitry Rybolovlev, participated in the privatization of enterprises in the Perm Territory. Now living in the US, Rustamov controls the chemical holding Metafrax Group, headquartered in Gubakha, Perm. Metafrax Chemicals produces a quarter of all methanol in Russia, and also operates Metadynea’s formaldehyde and synthetic resin plants in the Perm Territory, the Moscow Region and Austria. At the end of 2021, the group’s revenue exceeded 80 billion rubles, net profit reached almost 17 billion rubles.
Denis Shtengelov
Place in Russia: 94
Place in the global ranking: 2133
Wealth: $1.3 billion
Capital: KDV Group
Age: 50 years old
The first business of a graduate of the Faculty of Economics of Tomsk State University is a small-scale wholesale trade in raw seeds. Then Shtengelov, together with partners, bought a small confectionery enterprise in the village of Yashkino, Kemerovo Region. Now the businessman controls the KDV Group food holding (production of confectionery, snacks, tea, coffee, juices and other products, one of the main brands is Yashkino) and the Yarche! (more than 650 stores in Siberia and Central Russia). At the end of 2021, the revenue of LLC KDV Group, the holding’s largest enterprise, amounted to almost 185 billion rubles. In 2019, Shtengelov, co-owner of the Winter Cherry shopping center in Kemerovo, transferred 192 million rubles to the family of those who died in a fire in this shopping center.
Pavel Golubkov
Place in Russia: 102
Place in the global ranking: 2405
Wealth: $1.1 billion
Capital: GK Samolet
Age: 47 years old
In the early 2000s, Pavel Golubkov worked at the All-Russian Bank for Regional Development (RRDB), in 2004-2014 he headed the Medved leasing company. In 2012, he became an investor and co-founder of the Samolet development company, the first projects of which were built in the Moscow region. “Airplane” very rarely buys land for new projects, preferring to build on the lands of large landlords in exchange for a share in the developer company. Partners include Alexander Svetakov, Roman Abramovich and Alexander Klyachin. About 25% of the Aircraft Two Capitals company, which implements projects in Moscow and the Leningrad Region, is owned by Maxim Vorobyov, the main owner of the Inarctic aquaculture fish producer and brother of the Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov.
Dmitry Nikolaev
Place in Russia: 105
Place in the global ranking: 2405
Wealth: $1.1 billion
Capital: “Stroyservis”
Age: 56 years old
Dmitry Nikolaev controls Stroyservis, one of the largest Russian producers of highly liquid coking coal. In 2022, Stroyservice produced 17.7 million tons of coal. The company was founded in 1994 and initially traded in metals and pipes, then began to buy up coal enterprises. Since 2005, Stroyservice has been concluding annual agreements on social and economic cooperation with the administration of the Kemerovo region, modernizing and improving schools, cultural institutions, sports centers, etc. In 2022, the company allocated RUB 440 million to charity programs in the region.
Ivan Streshinsky
Place in Russia: 109
Place in the global ranking: 2540
Net worth: $1 billion
Capital: USM
Age: 53
“Right hand” of Alisher Usmanov. Before becoming Usmanov’s manager, Streshinsky worked for another billionaire, Vasily Anisimov, and was engaged in legal support for the transactions of his company Coalco. In 2006, Streshinsky headed Usmanov’s Gazmetall company, which merged with Metalloinvest. In 2012, he became CEO of USM holding Usmanov, Andrey Skoch and their partners (the main assets are Metalloinvest, Baikal Mining Company, MegaFon and Akkermann Cement). For his work, Streshinsky received a 3% stake in USM in 2014, and another 2% in 2021. In 2022, he stepped down as CEO of USM.