Melnichenko Pledges Loyalty to Putin as Russia Billionaires’ Wealth Tops $697 Billion
Updated
Updated · The Moscow Times · Jul 14
Melnichenko Pledges Loyalty to Putin as Russia Billionaires’ Wealth Tops $697 Billion
1 articles · Updated · The Moscow Times · Jul 14
Summary
Andrey Melnichenko used a rare Economist profile and self-authored op-ed to argue that big business should align with a strong Russian state, framing sovereignty as the safest protection for contracts and investment.
Three oligarchs already lost major assets to nationalization in 2026, helping explain the loyalty pitch as wartime property risks rise and overseas escape routes stay constrained by Western sanctions.
Russia’s billionaire wealth recovered to $697 billion from $663 billion in 2021, aided by export rerouting, domestic demand and the takeover of Western assets, even as those wartime gains look close to exhausted.
GDP growth slowed to 1% in 2025 and the non-war economy contracted, leaving tycoons with fewer domestic expansion options and little incentive to invest heavily if the Kremlin can still seize assets.
The report argues Russia’s oligarchs are now effectively trapped with Putin: too dependent on the state to challenge it, yet vulnerable to both further Kremlin pressure and any future post-Putin redistribution drive.
With their wealth surging, why are Russia's oligarchs now considered powerless hostages of the Kremlin?
As the Kremlin seizes billionaire assets, who are the new elites rising to take their place?
Is Russia's economic pivot to China a brilliant survival strategy or a path to becoming Beijing's vassal state?
Russia’s Oligarchs in 2026: Record Fortunes, State Seizures, and the End of Borderless Capital
Overview
In 2026, Russia’s wealthiest oligarchs like Andrey Melnichenko and Gennady Timchenko have reached record fortunes, but their prosperity is overshadowed by growing state intervention and risk. The Kremlin is reversing post-Soviet privatizations, impacting even loyal business elites and increasing pressure on their assets. President Putin’s justifications for these actions are seen as disingenuous, while a broader trend of repression against business magnates is spreading. This environment forces oligarchs to carefully manage their public statements and loyalty, as immense wealth no longer guarantees protection from state control or the threat of asset seizure.