Net Worth: $2.4 billion (June 2008)

Age: 50 years old

Marital status: Married, has a son and a daughter

Last year: $1.9 billion

Industry: Metallurgy, pyroshale, engineering industry

Vitaly Gayduk has been a permanent member of the rating of the richest Ukrainians for three consecutive years now. His business actively expands westward, where the Donbas Industrial Union (ISD) buys up industrial enterprises, thus clearing a way to the most expensive markets of the world.

Finally, after long-drawn-out battles, a peaceful agreement was sealed with Rinat Akhmetov (#1), the owner of the largest Ukrainian ore mining and processing complex, on iron ore supplies which are vital for ISD business. Moreover, the time of signing the merger agreement with Gazmetal company approaches, Gazmetal is the largest owner of the Russian iron-ore beds. So, in general, life is a piece of cake.

And then Gayduk publicly announces that he is going to sell his share in business, and go into policy making to get modest state official pay. Korrespondent warned about the possible Gayduk’s desertion, as early as last year, when it put together a comparative table of multimillionaires.

Here is a quote from the May issue of 2007: “there is not much room for Gayduk in his large business. And ISD is not very comfortable, when there is no its own representative in power. That is why the more actively the corporation expands its business, the more actively Sergey Taruta, Gayduk’s business partner, promotes his friend to the power”. However, the multimillionaire was not called to the state service, and it means that everything remains on the same place, including Gayduk.