Following the fallout of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine making Russia the most sanctioned country in the world, the number of Russian billionaires has dropped from 123 in 2021 to 88 in 2022, according to Forbes.

Forbes estimates that 68 Russian businessmen, whose net worth in December 2022 exceeded $1bn, became poorer during the year.

The largest loss was suffered by steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov, who lost $11bn, according to Forbes, which estimates his fortune as of December 2020 at $18.4bn. As followed by bne IntelliNews, Mordashov (Mordashev) has been one of the Russian oligarchs hit the hardest by the EU sanctions, and by the UK. 

In June 2022 the US also sanctioned Mordashov, his wife Marina and sons Kirill and Nikita, as well as his investment vehicle Severgroup, one of Russia’s largest steel producers Severstal and gold miner Nordgold.

The founder of Russia’s largest e-commerce major Wildberries and the richest businesswoman in the country Tatyana Bakalchuk saw her fortune drop by $8.4bn to $4.7bn as the valuation of her company was pulled down by another peer Ozon Holdings.

The founder of TCS banking group exiled Oleg Tinkov lost $5.9bn and with it his billionaire status, as Forbes estimates his worth at $0.87bn. Tinkov was one of the prominent oligarchs and businessmen sanctioned by the UK, and lost his billionaire status after his fortune plummeted by more than $5bn in a month.

After Tinkov published a sharp foul-mouthed critique of the "insane war" in Ukraine on his social media, Tinkoff Bank immediately distanced itself from its founder and Tinkov was forced to sell the banking group to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin.

Roman Abramovich lost $5.6bn to have $8.7bn net worth, following the sanctions of the EU, UK, Canada and Australia. Forbes reminds that in April 2022 the offshore island of Jersey in the English Channel blocked Abramovich assets worth $7bn, and the billionaire was forced to sell the Chelsea football club. 

The head and majority owner of independent oil major Lukoil Vagit Alekperov lost $5.1bn of his fortune to $21bn after being sanctioned by Australia and by the UK on 13 April. Since the start of 2022, shares in Lukoil have fallen 39%. Leonid Fedun, the long-term associate of Alekperov and ex-vice president of Lukoil, lost $4.2bn to $7.5bn.

Viktor Vekselberg, the founder of the Renova Group, had already been put on the US sanctions list back in April 2018. In 2022, his fortune continued to decline by $4.1bn to $5.2bn, according to Forbes.

A long-time friend and ally of President Vladimir Putin, Gennady Timchenko has been sanctioned by the US since the 2014 annexation of Crimea. In 2022, the valuation of his fortune was pulled down by the collapsed Russian stock market and the shares of his gas major Novatek that dropped 38% since the beginning of 2022. As a result, his fortune declined by $4bn to $20bn.

An associate of Timchenko in Novatek and petrochemical major Sibur, Leonid Mikhelson lost $3.3bn to $24.4bn.