“They are not role models!” Why are Russian oligarchs condemned in the West?

As you know, the other day, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced the preparation of sanctions against enterprises and individuals that "serve as a pillar of the Russian state." We are talking about the possible confiscation of property of entrepreneurs from Russia. Moreover, the inevitable deterioration in the investment attractiveness of her country in this case, according to Truss, does not frighten the UK. She added: "Democracy and freedom are more important than momentary financial interests".

Analysts consider this precedent dangerous, since it can scare away not only Russian billionaires, but also entrepreneurs from other countries who have found a safe haven for their capital. But if the initiatives are supported, then the exodus of some Russian businessmen from the UK will become inevitable - the risk of losing property is too great.

Putin's press secretary Peskov responded to this information very succinctly, for some reason depriving the British of the status of Europeans: "The Anglo-Saxons harm us Europeans."

It is known that several Russian billionaires with ties to the Kremlin live in London”: Daily Mail published a map of the London real estate of Russian oligarchs, who “may face British sanctions today”

And here is what he thinks about the Russian billionaires living in his homeland, their English "colleague" - one of the most successful entrepreneurs on the planet, billionaire Richard Branson. The owner of the Virgin business empire, in an interview with the Australian magazine The Collective Hub, said the following:

“It's sad to see people with a lot of money who only want the Biggest car, the Biggest private jet and the Biggest yacht. People who do not understand that the most valuable thing comes not from money, but from loved ones. One or two serious "toys", - it's understandable, but when it becomes an end in itself ...

You understand, I'm talking about that guy from Chelsea (about Roman Abramovich, ed.). He has six yachts, looking at any of which you think “What a waste of money!”. He could change the lives of thousands of people for the better if he used his money for good deeds. (...) If someone's apartment is filled to the ceiling with newspapers, we call him crazy. If a woman lives in a trailer full of cats, we call her crazy. But when people pathologically accumulate such amounts that they plunge an entire nation into poverty, we put them on the cover of Forbes magazine and pretend that this is a role model.

Meanwhile, the combined wealth of Russian billionaires from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index has dropped by $17.8 billion since the beginning of the year.

In total, the list includes 25 citizens of Russia. The richest Russian is Leonid Mikhelson, the main owner of NOVATEK and Sibur, his real-time fortune is estimated by Bloomberg at $30.8 billion. In the list of the richest people in the world, he ranks 43rd.

Gennady Timchenko, a member of the board of directors of NOVATEK and Sibur, lost the most. His fortune decreased by $2.53 billion. The second in terms of losses is Alexei Mordashov, the main owner of Severstal. His losses since the beginning of the year amounted to $ 1.67 billion. In third place in terms of losses is Mikhelson, whose fortune has dropped by $ 1.65 billion.

Foreign and Russian media report, by the way, that billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who ranks 14th in the Forbes list of the richest Russians, continues to get rid of assets in Russia.

Prokhorov's Onexim Group has reached an agreement on the sale of PJSC Quadra, a company that owns 20 power plants and 317 boiler houses in 10 regions of the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation.

Now, according to Forbes, out of $11.4 billion in Prokhorov's fortune, $9 billion is in cash.

“A man who, almost in all seriousness, ran for president in 2012 (and even managed to get 8%), in 2014 realized that there was nothing more to catch, and since then he has been systematically selling all Russian assets,” write the experts of the telegram channel “Double Yat».