Russian billionaires become $62 billion richer during pandemic

Over the past two months, the number of dollar billionaires in Russia has increased from 99 to 101 people, while their combined wealth has grown from $392 to $54 billion.

The collapses that stock markets around the world saw in March due to the break-up of the OPEC+ deal and the coronavirus pandemic, struck a powerful blow on business of those who appear on the list of wealthiest people of the world according to Forbes magazine.

However, over the past two months, dollar billionaires have only grown richer - the fortune of 25 leaders of the rating has increased by $255 billion during the gloomy period of 2020.

Russia-based members of the Forbes list did not stand aside. During the pandemic, the aggregate fortune of Russian dollar billionaires increased by $62 billion - from $392 billion to $454 billion, according to the Forbes Real Time counter, which estimates the change in wealth of the world's richest people online.

The day of March 18 was taken as a reference point to analyze the wealth of the richest people who appear on Forbes' 2020 list. Stock markets experienced one of the worst crises back then, while a week before that, on March 11, the WHO recognized the spread of coronavirus as a pandemic.

The Dow Jones Index has grown by 23 percent since then, S&P - by 23 percent. The Moscow Exchange Index amounted to 2112.64 points on March 18, before it rose by 30 percent by May 25, to 2757.9 points.

The fortune of Russia's five richest people in the reporting period increased by $22.6 billion to $109.5 billion. The main owner of Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin, became richer more than others. The businessman, who was ranked first in the Russian part of the Forbes list this year, increased his fortune during the pandemic by $6.4 billion - from $19.7 to $26.1 billion.