Russia’s richest men lost $40bn as a consequence of the collapse of the stock market on Thursday, February 24 after Russia began a sweeping invasion of Ukraine, according to Forbes.

Following news of Russian forces attacking Ukraine from the north, east and south, Russia’s markets went into freefall. The Moscow and St Petersburg exchanges halted trading, the Central Bank banned short positions, and the ruble devalued rapidly, dropping to 85 rubles to the US dollar at one point.

The stock market crash saw Russian exchanges lose around a third of their value by midday on Thursday, while shares of Russian companies listed on London’s LSE plummeted by around 70%.

Lukoil’s president Vagit Alekperov lost the most, with $5bn wiped off his fortune in 24 hours.

Sanctions also contributed to the losses. Co-owners of natural gas supplier Novatek Gennady Timchenko and Leonid Michelson lost almost $8bn in total after coming under British sanctions.

Co-owner of metallurgical giant Norilsk Nickel Volodymyr Potanin lost $3.3bn, with his fortune dropping to $24.6bn.

The prices of safe haven commodities like gold and oil surged as investors flocked to traditional hedges against volatility.

Russia’s markets have since begun to stabilise, and the ruble is currently trading at around 83 to the US dollar. But the collapse has sent stock markets back to roughly the levels they were trading at in 2016, in a sign that the news will significantly hamper Russia’s growth.

More sanctions are anticipated from Western countries in the days to come, including possibly on Vladimir Putin himself.