The latest ranking of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine leaves no doubt: the wealth gap in Russia has reached historic proportions.
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While the country struggles with the effects of sanctions, the richest elite – numbering 155 people – has assets worth almost USD 700 billion. That's as much as 24 percent. the entire Russian economy.
Rakhimkulov brothers: Russian masters of Hungarian business
Ruslan (47) and Timur (49) Rakhimkulov are new members of the elite billionaires' club. Their fortunes are valued at $1.9 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively. Although they have dual citizenship (Russian and Hungarian), their influence in Budapest arouses increasing emotions.
The main source of their wealth are shares in two giants of the Hungarian market: OTP Bank, the largest bank in Hungary, and MOL, the national energy company.
The brothers' rapid advancement in the ranking is the result of a spectacular increase in the capitalization of OTP Bank, whose shares increased in dollar prices by as much as 2.5 times in just one year.
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An empire built on gas
The power of the Rakhimkulov family did not come out of nowhere. Their father, Megdet, was a trusted person of the first management team of Gazprom. It was he who represented the interests of the Russian giant in Hungary in the 1990s, and over time took over shares in the local banking and fuel sectors. In 2020, he transferred the accumulated wealth to his sons, who have lived in Hungary since childhood.
Apart from the financial sector Ruslan Rakhimkulov controls the strategic terminal of the East-West Intermodal Logistics Service on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. This is a key transhipment point where European and Russian gauge tracks connect.
Dark clouds over the Rakhimkulov brothers
The historical records of the wealth of the Russian elite coincide with the ongoing aggression against Ukraine. As Forbes notes, many oligarchs became rich thanks to arms orders and the increase in the value of assets related to the war economy. The total wealth of the richest Russians is currently twice as large as the budgets of all Russian regions combined and a quarter larger than the central budget of the entire country.
However, dark clouds are gathering over the Hungarian assets of the Rakhimkulov brothers. After the electoral defeat of the Fidesz party, new leader Peter Magyar announced a thorough review of state giants.
— Detailed audits will cover MOL and OTP bank. The new authorities want to determine how large Russian shares are in these strategic companies and what real influence they have on the decisions made there, reports Forbes.
In 2021, the family controlled over 7%. shares in OTP bank. How much is this share today? The answer to this question may become one of the hottest political topics in Budapest in the coming months.
