As the Ukraine conflict intensifies, the fortunes of Russia’s super-rich have started shrinking amid sanctions and sinking stock markets.
With the conflict continuing at full pace, the Russian billionaires have suffered more than $32 billion in their fortunes.
In a proactive move, US President Joe Biden has sent additional troops to be posted in the Baltics to defend NATO countries in case of any emergency.
Western nations and Japan had already imposed a set of sanctions targeting Russia’s sale of sovereign debt abroad, the country’s elites and two of its military banks.
This has caused the fortunes of Russian billionaires to tumble.
Gennady Timchenko heads the list of Russian billionaires.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Timchenko has witnessed almost a third of his wealth disappearing this year.
Another billionaire, Leonid Mikhelson’s fortune has tumbled $6.2 billion this year alone.
The country’s 23 billionaires currently have a net worth of $343 billion, down from $375 billion at year-end, says the famous wealth-listing institution.
This sudden steep in the wealth of the super-riches shows that the impact of sanctions has started kicking in, with markets further slumping this week.
