Wealthiest 100 Ukrainians get even richer amid pandemic, Forbes ranking shows

The pandemic was anything but a crisis for Ukraine’s wealthiest: 76 of the top hundred wealthiest in Ukraine saw their wealth increase over the last year, according to Forbes.

Altogether Ukraine’s billionaires and millionaires are worth $44.5 billion, up from $31.4 billion last year, Forbes Ukraine reported on May 6. The entrance ticket to the top hundred rose by a third to $125 million.

This year’s ranking also saw 14 newcomers. They represent the IT and energy sectors. 

In April, Forbes published the list of the richest people on the planet for the 35th time. It includes 2,755 billionaires — the most ever. Among them are seven Ukrainians with a total wealth of $19 billion, or 0.15% of the total capital of the richest in the world.

And while Ukraine’s wealthiest saw better times in 2013, the most successful year for asset gains, growth in key exports of oil, steels, wheat and corn, as well as growth in commodity prices helped those on the list increase their wealth year over year and gave them a comfortable head start in the race for 2022 list of top 100.

The top 10 richest Ukrainians in 2020 are:

1. Rinat Akhmetov, $7.6 billion

Rinat Akhmetov, 53, the ironworks and energy tycoon originally from the Donbas, remains the country’s richest person in 2021, even though his net worth has decreased six-fold since 2013, according to Forbes.

In early 2020, Akhmetov’s Metinvest metallurgical holding, which generates approximately 60% of his company SCM Holding’s revenue, was on the verge of default. Low steel prices globally in the second half of 2019 caused monthly losses of $40 million for Metinvest. 

Akhmetov was saved by the Chinese economy, which came out of quarantine in need of raw materials. In 2020, Akhmetov’s Metinvest company shipped 44% of its iron ore to the Asian market, twice as much as in 2019.

For the first time in five years, the Shakhtar football club, Akhmetov’s favorite project, didn’t take home any gold medals in the Ukrainian championship. FC Dynamo Kyiv, owned by oligarch Ihor Surkis, won the championship.

2. Viktor Pinchuk, $2.5 billion

Pinchuk, 59, with his massive assets in the ironworks industry and media, saw his net worth almost double over the past year from $1.4 billion in 2020 to $2.5 billion. His main business asset, Interpipe, is worth $500 million. 

According to Forbes, Pinchuk’s privately-owned Interpipe, which lost all of its business in Russia during its occupation of Crimea, is weighed down by heavy debts. 

Pinchuk also owns Star Light Media Holding which controls nearly 20% of Ukraine’s television market.

3. Kostyantyn Zhevago, $2.4 billion

For the second year in a row, the majority owner of the Ferrexpo mining group, Kostyantyn Zhevago, 46, cannot set foot on Ukrainian soil. In 2019, the Prosecutor General’s Office declared him internationally wanted for embezzling $90 million through his bank Finance and Credit. 

Since then, the businessman has ruled the iron ore empire remotely. Ferrexpo still shows record profits: In 2020, the company’s earnings increased by 46% to $859 million. 

Zhevago took advantage of the situation in foreign markets, increasing the supply of raw materials to China. According to Concorde Capital, China’s share in Ferrexpo’s revenue was 53%, compared to 23% in 2019 and 10% in 2017-2018. The company will earn more than $250 million in six months, according to Forbes.

4. Ihor Kolomoisky, $1.8 billion 

Despite his drop in net worth to $1 billion last year, former owner of now state-owned PrivatBank and owner of the Privat Group of companies, Kolomoisky came back this year with an increase in net worth, putting him back in 4th place, up from 8th last year.

The oligarch has faced several setbacks in court over the last year, though. In the latest, a $6 billion claim by Kolomoisky and his partners against Ukraine ended after the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce declared it had no jurisdiction in the case.

In March, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions against Kolomoisky and his relatives for involvement in corruption as head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration in 2014–2015.

5. Gennadiy Boholyubov, $1.7 billion

This last year hasn’t been great for Gennadiy Boholyubov, the 58-year-old London-based businessman and former owner of PrivatBank.

In February, the Stockholm International Arbitration Court dismissed a $6-billion claim against Ukraine filed by the shareholders of oil and gas company Ukrnafta, which includes Boholyubov and Ihor Kolomoisky.

Boholyubov and Kolomoisky also co-own the informal Privat Group of companies, which include ferroalloy plants. Exports of ferroalloy fell by 25% in 2020.

6. Oleksandr and Halyna Gerega, $1.7 billion 

Epicenter K, a leading construction materials and home improvement retailer with 59 stores and over 22,000 employees, didn’t let the pandemic get in its way.

In 2020, the company launched its own pharmacy and grocery store chain and announced plans to invest over $1.2 billion in the company’s development in 2021–2022.

In April 2020, Epicenter was embroiled in a scandal when personal protective equipment from China sent to help Ukraine fight the coronavirus pandemic ended up on the shelves of Epicenter K stores.

7. Petro Poroshenko, $1.6 billion 

The country’s fifth president, who is now a lawmaker and leader of the 27-member European Solidarity faction in parliament, continued to increase his net worth in 2021.

In 2021, Petro Poroshenko, 54, declared approximately $51.2 million in cash. This number of banknotes weighs more than a ton, at least 493 kilograms in denominations of Hr 1,000 and 512 kilograms in one hundred dollars.

Poroshenko’s confectionery company Roshen, increased its net profit by 60% in three quarters of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, to $86 million. 

Petro Poroshenko also became the official owner of the TV channel “Pryamy.”

8. Vadim Novinsky, $1.4 billion 

Originally a Russian millionaire, Novinsky, 56, acquired Ukrainian citizenship in 2012 from then-President Viktor Yanukovych at the request of Petro Poroshenko, then the economy minister.

Rising prices for ore and metal have increased the value of Akhmetov’s Metinvest, and hence the wealth of the minority shareholder — Novinskiy.

In 2020, he was ordained a deacon in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

9. Oleksandr Yaroslavskiy, $1.4 billion

Originally from the Donbas, the 60-year-old financial and ironworks tycoon Yaroslavskiy spent nearly $10 million on the COVID-19 prevention efforts in Ukraine, according to Forbes.

Compared to his estimated net worth in 2020 ($725 million), Yaroslavskiy made a lot of money in the last year, increasing his wealth to $1.4 billion in 2020, according to Forbes. This pushed him up a spot from 10th place last year.

10. Yuriy Kosiuk, $780 million

According to Forbes, 52-year-old agriculture tycoon Yuriy Kosiuk isn’t having the best year. A drop in global prices for chicken and a weakening of the hryvnia caused Kosiuk’s holding, MHP, a net loss of $133 million in 2020.

Last year, Kosiuk was in 6th place with a net worth of 1.1 billion after MHP increased its annual gain by $2 billion in 2019, bringing in a $30 million profit, 66% of which belonged to Kosiuk. 

At the end of 2020, Kosiuk put up for sale two yachts worth a total of $172 million.

Despite losses, the board of directors for MHP still decided to pay shareholders $30 million in 2020.

The Forbes list of Ukrainian millionaires also includes: 

11. Sergey Tigipko, $730 million 
12. Viktor Medvedchuk, $620 million 
13. Stepan Chernovetsky, $545 million
14. Mykola Zlochevsky, $540 million
15. Gennadiy Butkevich, $530 million
16. Andriy Verevsky, $520 million
17. Viktor Karachun, $505 million
18. Yevhen Yermakov, $505 million
19. Yevhen Chernyak, $470 million
20. Vladyslav and Iryna Chechotkin, $470 million 
21. Vitaliy Khomutynnyk, $465 million
22. Vagif Aliyev, $460 million
23. Dmytro Zaporozhets, $450 million
24. Oleksiy Vadaturskiy, $430 million  
25. Dmytro Firtash, $420 million
26. Filya Zhebrovska, $390 million
27. Vitaliy Antonov, $385 million
28. Oleksandr Konotopsky, $340 million 
29. Vasyl Khmelnytsky, $310 million
30. Vitaliy Haiduk, $300 million
31. Hlib Zahorny, $300 million 
32. Oleksiy Martynov, $300 million
33. Valeriy Khoroshkovkiy, $300 million
34. Vlad Yatsenko, $300 million
35. Volodymyr Kostelman, $280 million
36. Viktor Polishchuk, $275 million
37. Kostyantyn Hrihorishyn, $275 million
38. Maksym Lytvyn, $260 million
39. Oleksiy Shevchenko, $260 million
40. Dmytro Lider, $260 million
41. Ihor and Hryhoriy Surkis, $260 million 
42. Adnan Kivan, $240 million
43. Oleksandr Kosovan, $235 million
44. Ihor Palytsa, $230 million
45. Vadym Yermolayev, $220 million 
46. Borys Kaufman, $220 million 
47. Borys Lozhkin, $220 million
48. Eduard Mkrtchan, $215 million
49. Andriy Stavnitser, $215 million
50. Oleh Rohinskiy, $210 million
51. Maksym Yefimov, $205 million 
52. Yegor Hrebennikov, $200 million
53. Svyatoslav Nechytailo, $195 million
54. Taras Kitsmey, $190 million 
55. Borys Kolesnykov, $190 million
56. Kateryna Kostereva, $190 million 
57. Valeriy Kiptyk, $185 million 
58. Stepan Ivakhiv, $180 million 
59. Mykola Udyansky, $180 million 
60. Ivan Fursin, $180 million
61. Volodymyr Shkolnik, $180 million
62. Andriy Zdesenko, $175 million 
63. Vyacheslav Moskalevskiy, $175 million 
64. Vadym Stolar, $175 million 
65. Serhiy Labazyuk, $165 million
66. Heorhiy Skudar, $165 million 
67. Pavlo Fuks, $165 million
68. Pavlo Ovcharenko, $160 million
69. Vyacheslav Klymov, $155 million
70. Volodymyr Popereshniuk, $155 million
71. Volodymyr Prykhodko, $155 million
72. Stanislav Voitovych, $150 million
73. Roman Lunin, $150 million 
74. Oleksandr Petrov , $150 million
75. Oleksandr and Serhiy Pylypenko, $150 million
76. Andriy Biba, $145 million
77. Nataliya Bondareva, $145 million 
78. Rafael Horoyan, $145 million 
79. Mykola Humeniuk, $145 million
80. Yaroslav Liubinets, $145 million
81. Oleksandr Spektor, $145 million 
82. Andriy Hordienko, $140 million
83. Yakiv Hrybov, $140 million 
84. Anatoliy Kipish, $140 million 
85. Serhiy Krolevets, $140 million 
86. Stanislav Ronis, $140 million
87. Ruslan Shostak, $140 million 
88. Tariel Vasadze, $135 million
89. Volodymyr Zubik, $135 million 
90. Yuri Rodin, $135 million 
91. Serhiy Sypko, $135 million
92. Oleh Vychnyakov, $130 million
93. Oleksandr Dytyatkovskiy, $130 million
94. Oleksandr Sukhodolskiy, $130 million
95. Victor Ivanchyk, $130 million
96. Vadym Nesterenko, $130 million
97. Oleh Sotnykov, $130 million
98. Roman Chyhir, $130 million
99. Anatoliy Shkriblyak, $130 million 
100. Oleksandr Slobodyan, $125 million