Roman replaced at top of Russian rich list
By virtue of simply losing less money than his peers, the precious metals tycoon and renowned playboy Mikhail Prokhorov has become Russia's richest man, according to Finans magazine, the Russian equivalent of Forbes, while the Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich (pictured) has lost nearly half his fortune in the economic downturn.
The worldwide recession and collapsing ruble have hit Russian tycoons hard: aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, for example, has plummeted from first place on the list to eighth after losing an astonishing $35bn in 2008. And according to Bloomberg, the combined wealth of the richest 49 Russians has dropped by 69 per cent while the total number of billionaires has more than halved.
Prokhorov is worth an estimated $14.1bn, making him some $200m better off than Abramovich who occupies second place in the rich list. However, the Chelsea owner who has just had to blow several million on replacing his club manager as the team struggles in the Premier League can console himself with the finding that readers of Finans rate him as the most interesting Russian oligarch.
The 44-year-old Prokhorov was rated as the second most interesting multi-billionaire: his 'interesting' CV includes pimping charges brought against him in January 2007 when he was arrested in the French ski resort of Courchevel for allegedly arranging prostitutes for his guests.
The Finans top ten:
$14.1bn Mikhail Prokhorov, down from $21.5bn
$13.9bn Roman Abramovich, down from $23bn
$7.7bn Vladimir Lisin, down from $22.2bn
$7.6bn Vagit Alekperov, down from £13.5bn
$7.5bn Suleiman Kerimov, down from $18bn
$6.1bn Mikhail Fridman, down from $22.2bn
$5.0bn Vladimir Potanin, down from $21.5bn
$4.9bn Oleg Deripaska, down from $40.0bn
$4.6bn Dmitri Ribolovyev, down from $11.7bn
$4.5bn Alisher Usmanov, down from $13.3bn
People: Abramovich makes Hiddink an offer he couldn't refuse
Mikhail Prokhorov: The playboy, the playmate and the wedding
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