The number of individuals on the list continues to grow despite Western sanctions
The number of Russian billionaires has grown over the past year despite Western sanctions aimed at destabilizing the country’s economy, according to the Forbes World’s Billionaires List. The annual ranking added 15 new Russian names in 2025 to reach a record total of 146.
Russia’s new billionaires come from different backgrounds and include self-made entrepreneurs and heirs. The industries represented span coal, finance, IT, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, agriculture, food production, housing, trade, transport and power.
Among the newcomers in the ranking, Indian-born Vikram Punia, founder of the pharmaceutical firm Pharmasyntez, was the wealthiest, debuting with a fortune of $2.1 billion. Others included Lyudmila Kogan ($1.3 billion), widow of banker Vladimir Kogan and inheritor of a majority stake in Uralsib Bank; twin brothers Alexander and Viktor Linnik ($1.3 billion each), the founders of meat producer Miratorg; and Boris Nuraliev, founder of the software company 1C ($1.3 billion).
Russia ranked fifth globally in new billionaires. The US topped the list with 103 new names, including Marilyn Simons ($31 billion), widow of hedge fund pioneer Jim Simons, and Lyndal Stephens Greth ($25.8 billion), daughter of oil magnate Autry Stephens.
Germany was second with 37 newcomers, including the youngest billionaire on the list, 19-year-old Johannes von Baumbach ($5.4 billion). China and Hong Kong followed with 32, and India ranked fourth with 17.
Nearly 70% of the world’s newest billionaires, or 196 of them, are self-made, according to Forbes. Technology and AI topped the list of industries for new billionaires, producing 46, including Chinese investor Hao Tang ($4.3 billion) and American startup founders Ben Lamm ($3.7 billion) and Dario Amodei ($1.2 billion). The finance sector followed with 41 newcomers, while healthcare ranked third with 40.
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