BBI: Wealth of Russian billionaires rises by $39.4 bln in Jan–Jul

MOSCOW, Aug 2 (PRIME) -- The combined wealth of Russia’s billionaires increased by U.S. $39.4 billion in January–July, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) seen by PRIME on Monday.

The index is calculated using capitalization and financial reports of the companies owned by the businessmen, or a capitalization to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) ratio and or a share price to earnings per share ratio. The rating comprises 500 wealthiest people of the world, including 24 Russians.

Vladimir Potanin, one of the core owners of metals giant Norilsk Nickel, led the rating with a $3.36 billion wealth growth to $33.4 billion.

The wealth of Leonid Mikhelson, co-owner of independent gas producer Novatek, grew by $5.8 billion, of Vladimir Lisin, the key beneficiary of steel producer Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), rose by $5.5 billion, of Severstal owner Alexei Mordashov by $6.14 billion to $39.4 billion.

The wealth of oil major Lukoil’s co-owner Vagit Alekperov, ranking fifth, increased by $4.01 billion to $21.3 billion.

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