BBI: Wealth of Russian billionaires rises by $16 bln in January

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (PRIME) -- The combined wealth of Russia’s billionaires increased by U.S. $16.1 billion in January, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) seen by PRIME on Wednesday.

The index is calculated using capitalization and the financial reports of the companies owned by the businessmen. For some companies a capitalization to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) ratio or a share price to earnings per share ratio are used. The rating comprises 500 wealthiest people of the world, including 23 Russians.

Vladimir Potanin, one of the core owners of metals giant Norilsk Nickel, led the rating with a $29.9 billion fortune that increased by $1.32 billion.

Independent gas producer Novatek’s co-owner Leonid Mikhelson ranked second with wealth increasing by $1.12 billion to $25.8 billion.

Businessman Vladimir Lisin gained $754 million to $20.6 billion, occupying the third place.

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