Revered by the people of Russia, Vladimir
Putin proved that short term tough decisions were worth making when he cut poverty by half
and contributed to a rapid growth in Russian GDP. After taking over the Russian premiership
on August 9th 1999, Putin’s popularity has rapidly grown in the Motherland. Born in 1952 in Leningrad, Putin studied law
and economics before joining the KGB, where he rose to the very top of the organization
before becoming head of state. He has a black belt in Judo, speaks both German
and English, enjoys bareback horse-riding, and hunting wild game. But is Putin, who won the Russian election
for the 4th time on March 18th, 2018, just rich in the hearts of the Russian people,
or has he amassed a personal fortune? As speculation rises about the value of the
Russian prime minister, a number of billion dollar figures have been batted to and fro. Today we’ll look at the wealth of the Russian
leader, in this episode of the Infographics Show, is Vladimir Putin the richest person
alive? The richest people in the world have a mind-blowingly
large stash of cash unimaginable to most of us simple run-of-the mill day to day earthly
citizens. Bill Gates, for example, has a net worth of
around 80-90 billion dollars, similar to the total GDP of Cuba. Phil Knight, who invented the Nike running
shoe, runs away each year with a total net worth of $30 billion, similar to the GDP of
Bolivia. Russian steel magnate and Chelsea football
club owner Roman Abromavich is worth about $10 billion, similar to the gdp of Madagascar. Currently, there are around 2,200 billionaires
in the world, and these generally range from tech CEOS, to heiresses, to investors, sports
designers, and commodity moguls. Heads of state are also well represented on
the world’s rich lists with the Sultan of Oman valued at $700 million. The president of Kazakhstan is valued at around
$1 billion, and the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates is worth around $4 billion. The Sultan of Brunei is worth $20 billion,
and estate of the late King of Thailand is worth approximately twice that, at $40 billion. But according to Hermitage Capital Management
CEO Bill Browder, they’re individual wealth doesn’t come close to that of Russian President
Vladimir Putin, who has a personal fortune as high as $200 billion. Browder (named Putin enemy number one in a
GQ magazine article) claims to be one of the best authorities on Putin, and as co-founder
of Hermitage Capital Management, an investment fund that was at one time the largest portfolio
investor in Russia, he should be in a position to know. And Browder isn’t the only one to wave his
finger accusingly at Putin for secretly being in the billionaire boys club. Kremlin adviser Stanislav Belkovsky estimated
in 2007 that Putin’s worth was somewhere in the region of $40 billion - a figure that
would place him in the top 22 of the current Forbes list. This estimate was based on holdings in the
oil sector, including a 37% stake in the oil company Surgutneftegaz, and a 4.5% control
of natural gas company Gazprom, along with substantial shares in a commodities trading
outfit known as Gunvor. In 2012, Belkovsky upped his estimate of Putin’s
worth to $70 billion which, if true, puts Putin way above the King of Thailand as numero
uno richest head of state. Before looking at how the Russian premier
possibly managed to raise such a sum, let’s look at how his reign shaped out. On December 31st 1999, a slightly shaky and
defeated Russian leader, Boris Yelstin, handed over the premiership of Russia to Vladimir
Putin. At this time, Russia was considered to be
in a somewhat shambolic state, and Putin was unproven as a politician, somewhat of an unknown
force not only at home in Russia but also on the worldwide stage. Fast forward a couple of years, and both Russia
and former head of the KGB Putin have grown in the estimations of the Russian people. Both Russia and Putin have become a reckoning
force on the global stage. Putin had blossomed as an elusive unknown
in the dusty theater of Russian politics, and flourished in the hearts of the people,
emerging as one of the most colorful and flamboyant world leaders. But did his bank account also flourish? Well, the Kremlin isn’t telling, and figuring
out the Russian president’s real value has been the golden fleece of intelligence and
cyber hackers across the world. It’s an enormous task to decipher who has
what when monies are distributed across a complex and secret web of accounts and holding
companies, real estate, and business interests worldwide. Putin certainly has some of the trappings
of the mega rich, with the alleged ownership of a $1 billion palace near the Black Sea. The property features a columned façade reminiscent
of a Russian Tsar’s 18th century palace, a private theatre, a landing pad with three
helicopter bays, and accommodation for a small private army. The sort of holding you might see in a James
Bond film. A scandalous 2012 dossier drawn up by the
former deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemstov links Putin to 20 other palaces, 58 airplanes,
4 yachts, and a collection of watches worth almost half a million dollars. The report also claims that Putin has a jet
which includes a bathroom with gold fittings and a $60,000 toilet, that we assume is also
made of solid gold. The Russian premier has also been linked to
a 2,300 acre residence on Lake Valdai in north-western Russia that has a cinema, a bowling alley,
and a presidential church. Putin’s official salary in 2012 was just
$70,000. But when asked about his wealth for Steven
Myers’ book the New Tsar, Putin neatly side-stepped the question answering “I am the wealthiest
man not just in Europe but in the whole world: I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia
have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia. I believe that is my greatest wealth.” Indeed. And perhaps all his wealth does belong to
the motherland. Exiled Russian banker Sergie Pugachev told
the Guardian newspaper that “everything Putin has belongs to the Russian Federation.” So technically everything he owns will be
handed back to Russia when he steps down. Putin should constitutionally have to do this
once having served his fourth and final term as president, as in Russia, Prime Ministers
only get to serve 4 terms. That is unless Putin changes the constitution
to allow himself to serve another term. And as the most popular Russian premier in
recent history, that could well happen. So, do you think the Russian leader should
be worth so many billions of dollars? Is he a corrupt politician, as some would
allege, or did he earn his money the good old fashioned way? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Also, be sure to check out our other video
called What would happen to your body if you lived in the Bathtub! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
richest thief, ftfy