Jamesty
The wealth of Russia is a significant and changing force in the world economy. It is made up of many different parts, including industry, natural resources, and changes in the geopolitical situation. Every year, the fortunes of these business tycoons change, telling a story not merely of their own success, but also of the larger economic trends that are affecting the country and the world. The people on this short list are more than just billionaires; they are the builders of empires and key actors in industries like steel, mining, energy, and technology. Their choices can have an effect on markets and international relations.
To really understand this elite group, you need to go past the mind-boggling amounts of money they have. It means looking into the historical roots of their fortune, which typically come from the chaotic time after the Soviet Union broke up, and following their rise to become smart, often multinational, corporate leaders. Their portfolios are varied, their methods are complicated, and the world market’s ups and downs, sanctions, and the fluctuating prices of goods put their resilience to the test. Because of this, economists, investors, and policymakers all over the world are very interested in and analyze the list of the richest people in Russia.
As we move through the economy of the mid-2020s, this list gives us an interesting look at where power and money are concentrated. Many fortunes are still based on conventional heavy industries like steel and oil and gas, but we are witnessing strategic shifts and investments in new areas. The unifying thread that runs through all of these business giants is their capacity to adapt, traverse complicated international waters, and run huge, vertically integrated companies. Their stories are about ambition, smart thinking, and an unmatched ability to generate and keep riches on a huge scale.
Nubia magazine’s in-depth examination into the people who will shape Russian business in 2025 is part of this comprehensive study. We have put together thorough profiles that look at how they got rich, what their most important assets are, and the strategic actions that have kept them at the top of the financial world. Let’s get right to it and show you the final rating of the Top 10 Richest People in Russia 2025 and their empires.
List Of Top 10 Richest People In Russia 2025
1. Alexey Mordashov
Alexey Mordashov is once again the Richest Person In Russia 2025, and he is sure of it. His wealth is closely tied to his controlling interest in Severstal, which is one of the most efficient and successful steel and mining firms in the world. Severstal has grown from a small factory to a worldwide giant with complex operations in Russia and smart investments around the world under his direction for decades. Mordashov’s fortune doesn’t just come from steel; he’s smartly spread out his investments throughout the years. He has a lot of money invested in gold mining through the Nordgold company, as well as a lot of money invested in the German vacation company TUI and a number of Russian media and machine-building companies. His fortune has stayed stable because he knows how to deal with changes in the global market, lower production costs, and handle his many investments in a smart way. This keeps him at the top of the list. His experience is a great example of how to do vertical integration and long-term planning in heavy industries.
2. Leonid Mikhelson
Leonid Mikhelson is still a major player in the global energy business as the founder and CEO of Novatek, Russia’s biggest independent natural gas producer. His wealth, which comes mostly from his large investment in Novatek, has grown because of the world’s need for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Yamal LNG, Novatek’s most important project, and Arctic LNG 2, its successor, have made the business and Mikhelson important players in the global energy market. Mikhelson’s concentration on big, ambitious projects in the Arctic has proven to be a visionary plan, even if he has had to deal with logistical and geopolitical problems. His wealth grows even more since he owns a stake in Sibur, a petrochemical business that is a leader in making plastics and rubbers. This simultaneous concentration on getting gas and turning it into high-value chemicals downstream generates a tremendous synergy that makes Mikhelson’s enterprise a key part of the modern Russian economy and keeps him among the richest people in the country.
3. Vladimir Lisin
Vladimir Lisin, the head of the Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) Group, has made a lot of money by being very precise and efficient in the steel business. Lisin is noted for his hands-on, engineering-focused approach to management, which is different from that of some of his contemporaries. He is always coming up with new ideas that have made NLMK one of the most lucrative steel makers in the world. His riches comes mostly from his management of the corporation, but he is interested in much more than just the blast furnace. Lisin also owns Russia’s largest stevedoring company, which runs a huge network of port facilities. This gives him a lot of power over the transportation and logistics of not just steel, but a lot of other goods as well. This vertical integration, which includes everything from making the product to shipping it, gives the company a big edge over its competitors. In addition, his well-known love of sport shooting is shown by his ownership of the Lisya Nora sports complex, which is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. This shows that this secretive millionaire has a wide range of hobbies.
4. Vagit Alekperov
Vagit Alekperov is the founding father and main stakeholder of Lukoil, one of the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas businesses. He has worked in the Soviet oil industry for a long time. His money comes from Lukoil’s huge business, which includes everything from exploration and extraction to refining and gas stations. Alekperov’s career started as an oil rig worker in the Caspian Sea. This offers him a unique, hands-on experience of the sector that has helped Lukoil succeed. Even though the global energy business is changing, Lukoil’s huge reserves and substantial downstream infrastructure make sure that revenue keeps coming in. He hasn’t been in the public eye as much in recent years, but his strategic influence and big ownership position make his fortune among the largest in Russia. His legacy is still very much a part of the Russian oil and gas sector’s infrastructure.
5. Alisher Usmanov
Alisher Usmanov is a typical oligarch with a very wide and frequently unclear range of assets. His money is still huge because it comes from so many different places, even though it has been affected by a number of international sanctions in the past few years. Usmanov made his initial millions in the metals and mining industry by owning shares in Metalloinvest, one of the biggest iron ore producers in the world. He then smartly branched out into technology, investing early in big companies like Facebook and Xiaomi and making billions from these investments. He has also been interested in telecommunications, media, and a notable collection of real estate and luxury items, such as large art collections and former investments in English football clubs. Alisher Usmanov will always be on the list of the Richest People in Russia 2025 because he knows how to find and take advantage of value in many industries, even though his holdings have gotten more secretive and complicated.
6. Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich is famous around the world for owning Chelsea Football Club, but his money comes from a far larger and private portfolio. He made his first fortune in the oil business with Sibneft, which he later sold to the state-owned Gazprom for billions of dollars. This gave him the money he needed to become a successful and smart investor. His investment company, Millhouse LLC, manages his current holdings, which include steel (Evraz), mining, and venture capital, among other things. Even though he hasn’t been in the public eye as much in recent years, Abramovich is recognized for his big charitable work, especially in Russia’s Far East, where he has paid for huge cultural and infrastructure initiatives. It’s hard to say exactly how much money he has because his assets are private, but there’s no doubt that he has a lot of it and is still actively managing it, which keeps him among Russia’s wealthy elite.
7. Mikhail Fridman
Mikhail Fridman helped start Alfa-Group, a huge financial and investment group that has been a major player in Russian business for decades. He has a lot of money because he has a lot of shares in the group’s many assets. One of the most important things is his stake in the multinational energy company TNK-BP, which was notably sold to Rosneft in a historic deal. He is also still interested in Alfa-Bank, one of Russia’s largest private banks. Fridman is known for being very smart when it comes to forging deals and for being quite persistent in difficult business and political situations. He has suffered a lot of international pressure and sanctions, but his wealth is safe because of a complicated network of holding companies and worldwide assets, especially in Europe through his LetterOne investment fund. His narrative is one of never-ending financial engineering and strategic determination.
8. Andrey Melnichenko
Andrey Melnichenko is the man behind two of Russia’s biggest industrial successes: SUEK, the country’s biggest coal producer, and EuroChem, a fertilizer company that makes nitrogen, phosphate, and potash that are important all over the world. He has been trying to create vertically integrated champions in each of their domains. SUEK is in charge of everything from mining to logistics and port infrastructure. EuroChem, on the other hand, has expanded from a domestic producer to a worldwide player with operations in Belgium and Nevada. People remember Melnichenko for his big, expensive initiatives, like establishing new ammonia and urea terminals to make it easier to ship things throughout the world. By controlling the whole manufacturing chain, from raw materials to finished goods and their distribution to market, he has created a lot of value and protected his businesses from changes in the market, which has made him a multi-billionaire.
9. Suleiman Kerimov
Suleiman Kerimov, a former politician and member of the Russian Federation Council, is very rich because he owns a lot of Polyus stock. Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia and one of the ten largest in the world. His investing approach has generally included buying large, often controlling, holdings in big Russian blue-chip companies, especially those in the mining and precious metals industries. The Kerimov family’s riches has changed a lot over the years, but Polyus is a stable and very profitable base for it. Gold’s reputation as a safe-haven asset, especially during times of economic turmoil, has helped him make a lot of money. Even though he is known for having a very private and low-key public existence, he has a lot of power over money, notably in the strategic gold mining business.
10. German Khan
German Khan has been a business associate of Mikhail Fridman for a long time and is also one of the main builders of the Alfa-Group conglomerate. His wealth is closely linked to how well the group’s main assets do. He was a key figure in making TNK-BP a prominent player in the energy market, and he still has a lot of stake in Alfa-Bank and other businesses in the consortium. Khan is sometimes called the “enforcer” of the partnership since he is known for his operational skills and tough management style. He is in charge of making sure that their businesses run well and make money every day. He might not want to be in the spotlight as much as some of his contemporaries, but his important role in one of Russia’s most powerful and long-lasting corporate organizations means that his personal wealth puts him among the richest people in the country, closing out our list of the top 10 for 2025.
