Vladimir Putin could be the richest man alive as none of the wealth belonging to Russia's oligarchs and Kremlin insiders is off-limits, an academic has suggested.
Forbes has been attempting to uncover the truth about Putin's wealth for 20 years. In a report published in 2022, the magazine suggested that his fortune could have been as much as $200 billion back in 2017, reports the Express.
However, as speculation continues to swirl around the Russian leader's wealth, Tom Mayne, a research fellow at the University of Exeter who co-authored a Chatham House report on kleptocracy, has offered his thoughts.
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Mayne stated that it remains "impossible to answer" the question of Putin's wealth definitively. However, he hinted that the actual figure could be higher than previously thought due to the blurred lines between public and private wealth in Russia.
He explained: "In a kleptocracy (which Russia undoubtedly is), potentially ALL the wealth of the oligarchs and Kremlin insiders is available for Putin/Russia's use. There is no line between public and private. What this means in practice is difficult to say."
He added: "For example, the US Treasury said in 2014 that the activities of Gennady Timchenko "in the energy sector have been directly linked to Putin. Putin has investments in Gunvor and may have access to Gunvor funds.
"It what way would Putin 'have access'? Does he have a bank account into which funds flow? Or does Timchenko act as a proxy, doing Putin's bidding on both a personal and state level? Similarly, how does Putin 'have investments'?
"In his own name or via a proxy with an unspoken (or hidden in a safe somewhere? ) agreement that the proxy must do what Putin says? Likely it is a combination, but the majority in my opinion wouldn't have to be formalised as Putin has ultimate power."
As of July 9th 2024, Elon Musk was the wealthiest individual globally, boasting a net worth of $252.4 billion, followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at $215.9 billion, according to Forbes India.
Musk, who consistently features among the world's richest people, derives most of his wealth from his automotive company Tesla and spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX. He has co-founded six companies in total and currently owns X (formerly Twitter).
Despite the impressive wealth generated from Musk's business ventures, he believes it pales in comparison to the vast fortune of Putin. In a 2022 interview with Axel Springer, Musk stated: "I do think that Putin is significantly richer than me."
Tom said "in some ways", comparing the autocrat's wealth with individuals like Musk and Bezos is "meaningless" due to there being different kinds of "wealth and wealth creation".
In a 2022 article, Forbes presented three theories about the wealth of Putin, The Khodorkovsky Model (named after oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky), The Mafia Model (government contracts awarded to family members), and The Bluster Model (his wealth is an illusion).
Forbes highlighted that Khodorkovsky's company, Yukos, controlled a significant portion of Russia's oil in 2002. At this time, he was the wealthiest man in Russia until he was imprisoned on charges of fraud and tax evasion - allegations he has denied.
There has been speculation that Putin played a role in Khodorkovsky's arrest and may have appropriated a large part of his fortune.
US financier Bill Browder, who had business dealings in Russia, proposed a theory about how much money Putin accumulated during this period. He suggested that Putin made a deal with other oligarchs following Khodorkovsky's arrest.
“The deal was, ‘You give me 50% of your wealth and I’ll let you keep the other 50%,’” says Browder. “If you don’t, he’ll take 100% of your wealth and throw you in jail.” Using this calculation, he determined that Putin was then worth $200 billion.
Tom said it is "clear" that Khodorkovksy and his firms had "billions frozen", but how this translates to how the money flows is "difficult to say".
He said Putin is clearly "not going to have a NatWest account" with $100 billion "shifted into it", but there "may well be" proxy accounts, trusts, and laddered offshore corporate structures "dotted around the more corrupt jurisdictions".
The academic suggested that these hypothetical accounts could be "for the benefit of Putin and his family", but it's "impossible to ascertain".
Tom explained that this is because Putin's name is "not going to be on any piece of paper", or if it is, any piece of paper that "anyone would ever see".
Gunvor Group has since contacted us to advise that "Putin does not and has never had any ownership or investments, beneficial or otherwise, in Gunvor; he has never been a beneficiary of Gunvor or its activities, directly or indirectly." We are happy to clarify this.
