Net Worth: $753 million

Age: 51

Marital status: Married, one son and one daughter

Last year: $2.4 billion

Industry: Metallurgy

“From the moment the coalition was created I have proposed Vitaly Gaiduk for the post of deputy prime minister, and my intentions remain unchanged,” said Yulia Tymoshenko at the end of March 2009. At the moment, Gaiduk’s political ambitions are satisfied with the modest role of chief of the prime minister’s group of advisors. Even this proximity to power has a positive impact on the 51-year-old’s sinking business. The crisis has struck a heavy blow on the Industrial Union of Donbas (IUD), which Gaiduk owns along with Sergei Taruta and Oleg Mkrtchian. Production volumes are falling. Sales markets are curled up in a ball. And then manna from heaven falls into the lap of Azovintex, a part of IUD, in the form of a state order for the construction of a stadium and an airport in Lviv. In April, Ukrainian media reported that the value of the order was over Hr 1.5 billion.