Russian oligarchs are making billions of dollars in profit despite sanctions amid the growth of the military economy

Russian oligarchs are receiving billions of dollars in dividends amidst the growth of Russia’s wartime economy.

This information comes from Bloomberg, based on data from Russian companies.

In 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the ten largest Russian businessmen collectively received 1 trillion rubles ($11.3 billion) in payouts as their companies resumed or even increased dividends after adapting the Russian economy to sanctions.

Many of these oligarchs are closely connected to Vladimir Putin, and some have been subjected to personal sanctions by the West.

The largest dividends were received by Vagit Alekperov, the key shareholder of “Lukoil,” amounting to 186 billion rubles. Alekperov is under sanctions from the UK and Australia but has not yet been included in the sanctions lists of the US and the EU.

Following him are Alexey Mordashov (148 billion rubles from “Severstal”) and Vladimir Lisin (121 billion rubles from “Novolipetsk Steel”).

Experts believe that starting from the second half of this year, the Russian economy might face significant challenges due to secondary US sanctions. This could prompt the Kremlin to increase taxes on big businesses. In light of this possibility, it is advantageous for Russian oligarchs to withdraw money from their businesses now. However, this also presents another problem: finding effective ways to invest these vast sums.