By RIA Novisti,
Moscow : Vladimir Lisin, the owner of the Russian steel giant Novolipetsk Steel, has been named Russia’s richest person with an estimated wealth of $18.8 billion by Russia’s Finans (Finance) business magazine.
Mikhail Prokhorov, the president of Onexim Group who topped last year’s rankings, was second in the 2010 list with an estimated wealth of $17.85 billion.
Roman Abramovich, the former governor of Chukotka and the owner of Chelsea Football Club, came in third with $17 billion. His fortune will enable him to keep the club afloat for another 100 years.
Despite the economic recession, Russia’s top ten billionaires have almost doubled their aggregate wealth in 12 months to $139.3 billion. The global economic crisis saw the combined fortunes of the top ten richest Russians fall from $221 billion to $75.9 billion in 2008.
A total of 500 super-rich Russians have made it to the magazine’s list. As many as 77 Russians own over $1 billion each.