Moscow is Now the Billionaire Capital of the World

Despite the global economic instability, Russian oligarchs are back! Moscow has reclaimed its crown as tycoon central after Forbes announced in its annual list of the world’s richest people that the Russian capital has more billionaires than any other city. According to Forbes, the number of billionaires in Russia, most of whom built their empires during the country’s anarchic 1990s, grew to 101 from 62 last year; and 79 of them are official residents of Moscow. Russia’s capital has knocked New York off the pedestal it took in 2009.

Russia accounts for a third of Europe’s 300 billionaires, and 15 of the world’s 100 richest people, more than all the other so-called BRIC countries combined (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and more than oil-rich Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.

Vladimir Lisin of Novolipetsk Steel Plant, Russia’s richest man, is places 14th among the richest with an estimated personal wealth of $24 billion.

Lisin is followed by another steel mogul, Alexei Mordashov, the major shareholder and chief executive of Russia’s biggest steelmaker Severstal. Mordashov occupies the 29th place on the Forbes list with a total fortune of $18.5 billion.

Mikhail Prokhorov, the president of Onexim Group, is the third among richest Russians with an estimated wealth of $18 billion.

Still at the top of the world’s list of money-bags is Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim, boasting a fortune of $74 billion.

Forbes says there are currently at least 1,210 billionaires in the world.

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