Despite Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the wealth of Russian billionaires has increased significantly in the past year, Forbes has revealed.

According to the Forbes Billionaires list for 2023, the overall wealth of Russian billionaires rose from $353bn in 2022 to $505bn this year, with an average increase per individual of $600mn. The number of Russians on the list also jumped to 110, representing a rise of 22 people compared to the previous list.

As the magazine notes, the list of billionaires for 2023 would have included 115 Russians, but five participants in the ranking have renounced their citizenship since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The increase in number of ultra-wealthy Russians comes despite a 2.1% contraction in the nation’s economy in 2022.

Much of the growth in billionaires’ fortunes can be directly attributed to consistently high commodity prices. This has included a boost in the price of fertiliser, directly benefiting the wealthiest Russian on the list, Andrei Melnichenko. Melnichenko, the co-founder of agricultural chemical company EuroChem, is now worth $25.2bn.

Vladimir Potanin, the owner of Norilsk Nickel, is second on the Russian list ($23.7bn). Vladimir Lisin, the owner of Novolipetsk Steel, is third ($22.1bn).

Of the 110 Russians on the 2023 Forbes Billionaires list, 46 are currently sanctioned by the United States, UK or the European Union. Although the sanctions have had little effect on the bank balance of many of Russia's wealthiest individuals, others have seen a significant decline in their fortunes. Earlier in 2023, Forbes released a 68-person list of the Russians who have suffered the most financial losses since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This list was topped by Aleksey Mordashov, the CEO of Severstal, who lost a staggering $11.1bn. Other prominent figures who have been significantly hit by the sanctions include Roman Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea FC, and Vagit Alekperov, the former President of Lukoil.

Many other Russians also lost a significant amount of money despite not being sanctioned, such as Wildberries founder Tatyana Bakalchuk, whose net worth has dropped by $8.3bn.

The rising number of Russian billionaires also comes despite the European Union’s “freeze and seize” task force finding $22bn in assets owned by sanctioned individuals. The vast majority of that figure was found in 2022, and has grown by less than $4bn since October, despite a significant number of new sanctions packages. According to Bloomberg, the EU has faced challenges in dealing with sanctioned individuals who have outmanoeuvred investigators by employing complex company structures to conceal their assets, making it almost impossible to identify which assets to which individual.