After 12 years at the helm of the Russian government, President Vladimir Putin is one of the most powerful people on earth. According to his 2021 tax filing, which the Kremlin made public, his annual salary is roughly $95,000. Meanwhile, his declared assets include two 828-square-foot and 1,657-square-foot apartments, respectively; a utility trailer; and two GAZ M21s made in the 1960s.
However, various sources say that, in reality, the Russian president could have one of the biggest fortunate in the world.
More than $200 billion. Behind the facade of austerity he presents in his tax filing, Putin could be hiding a fortune bigger than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos or Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Bill Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, testified to the Senate in 2017 that he believed Putin had a net worth of roughly $200 billion.
“I estimate that [Putin] has accumulated $200 billion of ill-gotten gains,” Browder said, according to his prepared remarks. “He keeps his money in the West and all of his money in the West is potentially exposed to asset freezes and confiscation.”
A previous investigation had estimated that he was worth approximately $60 billion.
The enormous disparity between the official and unofficial figures has led to multiple theories about the Putin’s true net worth. Beyond the numbers, the Russian president’s penchant for luxury, which includes a collection of high-end watches that he wears during public events, and properties also call his modest image into question.
50% of your fortune or nothing. The Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers revealed information about the activity of offshore companies linked to Putin’s close collaborators, who have also amassed their fortunes in his shadow.
Putin started amassing his fortune in 2003, the year Mijail Jodorkovski, the richest man in Russia at that time, was arrested. Jodorkovski dared to face off against Putin, ending up in a televised trial where he appeared inside a café. According to Browder’s Senate testimony, a group of oligarchs approached Putin and asked what they could do to avoid a fate similar to Jodorkovski’s.
“His response was: ‘50%'” Browder said. “Not 50% to the Russian government, not 50% to the presidential administration of Russia. 50% to Vladmir Putin. And at that moment in time, Putin effectively became the richest man in the world. I estimate his net worth to be $200 billion.”
An empire in external hands. In his testimony, the investor pointed out that there was a complex web of tax maneuvers in place to ensure there was distance between Putin and his fortune.
“None of the money is in his own name,” Browder said. “The money is held by what I call ‘oligarch trustees,’ people who are trusted friends of his who hold the money on his behalf. They’re holding the money in the west, in hedge funds, in private equity funds, in real estate, in football teams and other things like that.”
“A lot of the money sloshing around in real estate and in the world of finance belongs to Vladmir Putin and his oligarch trustees,” the investor added.
A mansion on the Black Sea. One of the most eye-catching assets that calls Putin’s fortune into question is a 190,000-square-foot mansion on the Black Sea, known as “Putin’s Palace.” The Kremlin has denied that this mansion belongs to the Russian president, stating that it belongs to a Russian businessman. However, a series of investigations by Reuters in 2014 found that the opposite was true.
Furthermore, according to another investigation by Forbes, the mansion has been bought and sold many times by companies related to oligarchs close to Putin.
Putin’s Palace is worth an estimated $1.3 billion. The value isn’t only in the property, though. As reported by Business Insider, which analyzed photos leaked by the Navalny Foundation, decorators have spared no expense in its interior. According to declarations from Alexi Navalny, a Russian government dissenter who died in early 2024 in a state prison, the mansion had security fences, its own port, a church, a no-fly zone, border control, wine cellar, a theater, casino, gym, pool, club, and private ice hockey rink.
Good taste in watches. Putin’s taste for luxury doesn’t end with his real estate properties. According to the specialists at IFLWatches, Putin has been photographed wearing watches that exceed his official salary several times over.
The Russian president’s watches include pieces from brands like Patek Philippe, IWC, Breguet, and Blancpain, which feature prices that range between $20,000 and $100,000. He also has been seen with Tourbograph from A. Lange & Sohne worth nearly $500,000.
Images | Kremlin
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