Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia, the mind behind the invasion of Ukraine. His estate is massive, but what is his net worth exactly?
The president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, is possibly the most controversial figure of our time. Already considered an authoritarian dictator, his image will forever be shaped by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Nevertheless, Vladimir Putin is an incredibly mysterious figure, and some believe he’s actually the world’s richest man. What is Putin’s real net worth?
If there is someone who knows how to keep secrets, that is Vladimir Putin. His political career began in the KGB, the Soviet Union’s secret service agency. When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, Vladimir Putin was appointed as chief of the Federal Security Service (FSB), basically the KGB successor.
As a professional spy, it is no surprise that his net worth is, in every aspect, a complete secret. Nobody really knows the extent of Putin’s fortune, and maybe he doesn’t have a full grasp on it himself.
His salary as Russian president is rather average when compared to his counterparts of other major nations. The official figure is 5.8 million rubles yearly, roughly $186,000.
Putin himself claims that his net worth consists of $180,000 on a savings account, a villa outside Moscow and a few cars.
According to many observers, however, something does not add up.
Putin’s real net worth
According to Fortune, Vladimir Putin is actually much, much richer than he claims. Indeed, Putin’s estate would include, in the most conservative assumption, a 190,000 sq/ft mansion on the Black Sea as well as a super-yacht.
The Sheherazade, Putin’s alleged 140-metres yacht, was seized last May by the Italian authorities in a Tuscanian harbor. According to Italian estimates, the yacht would be valued $650 million.
Putin is also said to own several luxury watches, as well as millions of dollars in Swiss accounts. This became evident in 2016, when Putin’s accolades appeared in the Panama Papers scandal.
The papers showed that Vladimir Putin owned significant shares in Russia’s main fossil fuel companies. In particular, the Russian president allegedly holds a 4.5% ownership in Gazprom, 37% in Surgutneftegas and 50% in the Swiss oil trader Gunvor.
These companies make billions in revenues every year. The war in Ukraine did not stop their operations completely, rather it simply “relocated” them to China and India.
Knowing the market evaluation of the three companies, which would be imperfect as the war surely changed things, it’s possible to calculate Putin’s net worth. The Russian president would be worth $70 billion, making him one of the world’s richest men.
However, this is far from a conclusive estimate. British financier Bill Browder claims that Putin’s net worth is actually far higher, totalling $200 billion. If that were the case, Putin would actually be the wealthiest person on the planet.
Whatever the truth, Vladimir Putin’s real net worth will likely be discovered years after his own demise.
