BBI: Russian billionaires gain $20.5 bln in January–March

MOSCOW, Apr 1 (PRIME) -- The combined fortune of Russia’s billionaires increased by U.S. $20.536 billion in January–March, Bloomberg said in a report accompanying its Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) released on Monday.

The index is calculated basing on capitalization and financial reports of companies owned by the businessmen, or on a capitalization to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) ratio and or a share price to earnings per share ratio.

Vladimir Potanin, one of the core owners of metals giant Norilsk Nickel, stayed number one among the richest Russians with $21 billion, an increase of $1.36 billion.

Vladimir Lisin, the major beneficiary of steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) was second with his wealth rising by $2.44 billion to $20.3 billion.

CEO of independent gas producer Novatek Leonid Mikhelson occupied the third position with a $20 billion wealth, which has grown by $575 million since the beginning of the year.

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