Oligarchs ‘own third of Russia’s total wealth’
Just 110 people own more than a third of Russia’s total wealth, the highest level of inequality in the world barring small Caribbean nations, a new report says.
Investment bank Credit Suisse said that the group owned 35 per cent of household wealth.
Worldwide, billionaires account for just one to two per cent of total wealth but Russia has one billionaire for every $11bn (£6.9bn) in wealth while in the rest of the world there is only one for $170bn (£107bn). The fall of Communism saw Russia’s most prized assets sold off to a small circle of businessmen later known as oligarchs. President Vladimir Putin allowed them to keep their wealth in exchange for their political loyalty.