There’s a New Richest Russian in Town
It’s a well-known fact that London is one of the top global playgrounds for the world’s richest Russian oligarchs. They have been flocking to the capital of England for years, scooping up swanky flats and living large in glitzy shopping centres and Michelin-star restaurants. Some of the wealthiest Russians have even made their permanent residence in London, and have become some of London’s richest citizens, like Len Blavatnik, Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich, who also happens to own the uber-British Chelsea football club. One must be firmly entrenched in Great Britain to own one of their most loved footie teams!
Although these super-rich Russians are well-known and often reported on in the media, a new oligarch was recently given the title of the richest Russian in London which is home to a total of 55 billionaires with a collective net worth of a staggering US$226 billion.
Mikhail Fridman is Now the Richest Russian in London
As in July 2019, according to Forbes, the billionaire businessman Mikhail Fridman’s considerable net worth came to around US$16 billion, which pushed Fridman right up to the top of the list of rich Russians in London. At the time, Alisher Usmanov’s wealth ‘only’ came to approximately US$12.9 billion and Roman Abramovich’s net worth was ‘only’ around US$13 billion.
With a massive fortune of around US17.4 billion, former ‘Richest Russian in London’ title holder Len Blavatnik is still wealthier than all of his fellow London-loving Russians. Unfortunately, he had to let go of the title because he is no longer considered as a citizen of the capital. The music and fashion mogul and owner of Access Industries has dual citizenship of the United States and the United Kingdom but has most recently been calling New York home, instead of London, giving Fridman a chance to enjoy the title for a while.
How to Become the Richest Russian in London
Mikhail Fridman began accumulating his sizable wealth when he co-founded Alfa Group with German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev. Some of the group’s subsidiaries include the commodities trading company Alfa-Eco and the biggest private bank in Russia, Alfa Bank. Fridman is also involved with other business ventures in the oil and gas industries, telecommunications and retail. He is a citizen and tax resident of the United Kingdom and has citizenship of Israel. The billionaire calls London home where he resides in Athlone House, a historic mansion he bought for around US$90 million in 2016.
Title Aside, Fridman is Not Your Average Oligarch
But despite the fancy title of London’s richest Russian, the posh house he owns, and all the money this super-wealthy Russian has, Mikhail Fridman has taken a firm stance when it comes to his four children taking their father’s fortune for granted. Fridman is a firm believer in giving children the gift of independence and plans to leave his wealth to charities instead of his children.