Net Worth: $753 million

Age: 53

Marital status: Married, two daughters

Last year: $2.4 billion

Industry: Metallurgy

In terms of corporate debt, the Industrial union of Donbas (IUD) is the leader in Ukraine’s private sector. On January 31, Korrespondent wrote that IUD has a debt burden of a minimum of Hr 5.2 billion. That’s bad news for Serhiy Taruta, president of IUD’s board of directors. So he had to take harsh measures, cutting staff at Ukrainian and foreign factories. Of course, there is another way out of the crisis – selling part of the business. Buyers for a share in IUD could be found. For example, the Ukrainian press has already reported that the Privat business group is interested in Taruta’s shares. Will the multi-millionaire strike a deal with his long-time opponents, or try to survive? The year 2009 is expected to give an answer to that question. And Taruta seems not to be giving up. In February 2009, at the height of the crisis, he announced the start of the construction of a full-scale ferroalloy plant in Zaporizhya Oblast. In the summer of 2008, the investment in this project was valued at Hr 500 million.