The Russian tycoons who deny Russia

By Chase Peterson-Withorn

Russian tycoons are going through difficult times. From the annexation of Crimea in 2014 to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, 34 current and former Russian billionaires have been sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union. Western authorities have blocked their businesses, seized their luxury yachts and grounded their private jets.

Unsurprisingly, then, the growing trend observed by Forbes in recent years – and especially in recent months – that many Russian-born billionaires do not want to be called Russians.

Some, in fact, rightly have this claim. For example, o Pavel DurovThe St. Petersburg-born Russian social network VK was ousted from the company after a dispute with the Putin government over censorship, and later founded the Telegram messaging app – a vital means of communication for Ukrainians. especially in the midst of war. “Pavel left Russia many years ago and intends to return,” a spokesman for Forbes said. After four years as a Russian citizen, Durov – who also lives in Dubai, also based in Telegram – announced that he had acquired French citizenship last year. (According to information, he is also a passport holder of the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis.)

Its story is similar Igor Bukhman. He and his brother, Dmitri, grew up in the city of Vologda, about 300 miles northeast of Moscow, where in 2004 they co-founded the Playrix mobile game development company. In 2013, they moved their headquarters to Ireland, but continue to have employees in both Russia and Ukraine. The Bukhmans, who now live in London, asked Forbes to register as citizens of Israel, where they moved in 2016, and not Russia.

THE Nik Storonsky, the 37-year-old co-founder of the London-based digital bank Revolut, grew up in Russia but left the country at the age of 20. Storonsky, who has spoken out against Putin’s military operation in Ukraine, has dual citizenship (of the United Kingdom and Russia) or, as Storonsky’s public relations officer put it, “Nik is a British citizen.”

Others have closer ties to the Russian business – and political – world. THE Eugene Shvidler – Roman Abramovich’s best friend and partner – is one of Russia’s best-known (and severely punished) oligarchs. In March, the British government imposed sanctions on Shvidler, a London resident, for his “close business ties” with Abramovich. Shvidler has stakes in Russian steel and nickel companies, but has long insisted he is not Russian. “Mr. Shvidler is not – and never has been – a citizen of the Russian Federation,” a Shvidler associate told Forbes, who said he was not responding on behalf of the billionaire. Shvidler was born in a Russian territory of the then Soviet Union, but, as his colleague pointed out, he technically never had a Russian passport and has been a US citizen since 1994 and a UK citizen since 2010.

Born in the Ukrainian region of the former Soviet Union, Len Blavatnik, who grew up in Russia and immigrated to America in 1978 at the age of 21, became rich through his collaboration with oligarch Viktor Vekselberg (who has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the United States for “close ties” with Putin) through Russian oil and aluminum companies. Blavatnik, which has not been sanctioned, has liquidated its assets in Russia and is now known for its investments in non-Russian companies such as Warner Music, the chemical company LyondellBassell and the fashion company Tory Burch. In addition, he has made large donations to Stanford, Harvard and Oxford universities, provoking reactions. He states that he is an American and a British citizen, while in 2018 his representative – who spoke to Forbes – stressed that Blavatnik “is not a Russian, he has never been a Russian and he is not an oligarch”.

Finally, the Yuri Milner. The most influential Russian investor in the technology industry is one of the initial funders of Facebook and Twitter through the fund DST Global. In his first business ventures, he was financed by Russia’s state-owned VTB Bank and a subsidiary of Gazprom – both companies have been sanctioned. Among his supporters is oligarch Alisher Usmanov – who has also been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, calling them “unjust” and reserving that he “will use all legal means to protect his honor and reputation “. Milner, a prominent Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist, untouched by sanctions and opposed to the Russian invasion, has long sought to distance himself from his homeland. In a “newsletter” published on his website, Milner, who was born in Moscow and studied Physics at the State University of the Russian capital, states that he became an Israeli citizen in 1999 – while he moved to the country in 2005 – and now a resident of Calif. in 2014. “97% of Yuri’s personal fortune was created outside Russia,” it said. He “has been visiting Russia since 2014”, “has no assets in the country” and “has never met Vladimir Putin”, he added. And most importantly: “In April 2020, Forbes included Yuri in its annual list of billionaires among Israeli tycoons – not Russia – reaffirming its close ties to the country.”

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