Russia’s billionaires hit by financial crisis

According to Russian business magazine Finans, Russia’s super rich have been severely hit by the global economic downturn.

The magazine revealed that the number of billionaires in the country halved from 101 in 2008 to 49 in 2009.

Forty-three year old technology and mining tycoon, Mikhail Prokhorov, is at the top of the list with a fortune of $14 billion (£9.8 billion), down from $21.5 billion a year ago.

Among the billionaires to lose money was owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, who in second place has an estimated fortune worth $13.9 billion (£9.7 billion), having lost $10 billion (£7 billion).

However, Oleg Deripaska, who has been at the top of Finans list for two years, fell to eighth place after losing approximately 85% of his fortune, down to $4.9 billion from $40 billion.

Last year, Russia’s stock markets lost 70% of their value while the national currency has lost 35% since the summer alone.

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