The Uzbek-born Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has seen his wealth drop by $7.29bn in 2023, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. As of November 24, his net worth stood at $13.8bn.

Forbes provides a slightly higher estimate of Usmanov's wealth at $14.2bn on the same date; he made his money in IT and metallurgy.

Usmanov was placed on the EU sanctions list shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine. He spends most of his time these days in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

The metals tycoon has suffered from a turbulent market since the start of the war that has impacted on valuations across his portfolio. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues to lead Bloomberg's list as the world’s wealthiest individual, with $348bn.

Since the onset of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the fortunes of all of Russia's leading oligarchs have been on a roller coaster ride. 

In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, Russian billionaires saw their net worth tumble. By March 3, 2022, the collective wealth of Russian ultra-rich individuals listed on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index had diminished by $88bn compared to February 23, 2022.

But as Russia started to do better in the war and the economy bounced back, the oligarchs’ wealth also recovered. By April 2024, Forbes reported that the combined wealth of Russian billionaires had increased by $72bn against the previous year, reaching a total of $577bn. This recovery was largely attributed to elevated global commodity prices and state-funded economic activities supporting the war effort.

Most of the leading oligarchs have been targeted with sanctions and seen some of their assets seized, including a slew of superyachts. However, the most recent reports estimate that the total value of seized assets was collectively worth $22bn and that figure has not changed in 2024. 

Amongst the least hit is Vagit Alekperov, the former president of privately owned oil major Lukoil, who emerged as Russia's richest individual with a net worth of $28.6bn as of April 2024, surpassing banker and agrochemical magnate Andrei Melnichenko, who owns fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal producer SUEK. Melnichenko doubled his wealth in 2022, from $11bn to $25bn, setting a personal record.

Ukraine’s billionaires have also been hurt by the war. Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, who owns the System Capital Management (SCM) conglomerate, saw his fortune drop from nearly $14bn to less than $6bn in just two weeks following the invasion, primarily due to the destruction of his assets in conflict zones.

Akhmetov’s Metinvest Group owned the giant Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol, one of Ukraine’s largest industrial facilities, worth billions of dollars, that was almost destroyed by Russian forces during a months-long siege to take the plant in 2022.