Biting sanctions imposed following President Putin's invasion of Ukraine are battering the fortunes of his mega-rich cronies, from Alisher Usmanov to Roman Abramovich. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Russia's most moneyed fat cats saw their wealth plummet last year by $96.2 billion (£79.6bn), a figure approximately equivalent to the GDP of Cuba or Slovakia.

As new sanctions are announced by the UK and US, read on to see the 15 oligarchs who’ve suffered the most financial pain in the wake of Putin’s invasion, ranked by how much they lost last year according to Bloomberg. All dollar values in US dollars. 

One of the original 1990s oligarchs, Mikhail Fridman said goodbye to a hefty 19% of his wealth in 2022. The co-founder of Alfa Group, a conglomerate that includes Russia's largest private bank, as well as international investment firm LetterOne, Fridman has been slapped with sanctions by Ukraine, the EU nations, Canada, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand for his close ties to Putin's inner circle.

As a result, the banking billionaire, who's lived in London since 2015, was forced to step down from the Alfa Group and LetterOne boards. Fridman's properties in the city, which include his St John's Wood mansion and the $87 million (£65m) Athlone House in Highgate (pictured), have been frozen, while his Paris apartment and villa in St Tropez were seized by the French authorities last May. Many other assets are in limbo.

Adding to his woes, Fridman was arrested in London in early December on suspicion of "multiple offences" including money laundering and fraud, but was soon released on bail. Earlier this month, it was reported that the UK's National Crime Agency has stopped investigating two of the three allegations against him, after a spokesperson confirmed the Agency was no longer probing a 58-year-old Russian businessman who was detained in a London raid in December – they didn't refer to Fridman by name – on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the Home Office or conspiracy to commit perjury.

Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor also became $2.66 billion (£2.2bn) poorer last year, but lost more than Fridman in percentage terms, with his net worth down by 29%. A major shareholder in Acron, one of Russia's leading fertiliser producers, the London-based oligarch has been penalised by Ukraine, EU countries, the UK, and Switzerland, again for his cosy relationship with the Putin regime and role as an enabler.

Kantor has had numerous assets frozen, including multiple luxury properties in Sardinia, and even one of his prized artworks: French authorities seized the major collector's Portrait of Timofei Savvich Morozov by Valentin Serov (pictured) in April of last year. And while Kantor's key interest Acron has escaped sanctions, its global business has been heavily disrupted, though the EU recently moved to end hold-ups of essential fertiliser shipments in its ports.

Leonid Fedun holds a substantial stake in Lukoil. The Moscow-headquartered energy giant was formed in 1991 out of three state-run companies, and Fedun was instrumental in orchestrating the privatisation deal alongside founder Vagit Alekperov. Fedun, who's no longer actively involved in Lukoil, isn't under Western sanctions but has been blacklisted by the Ukrainian authorities.

The biggest blow to Fedun's net worth, which fell by over 31% in 2022, has been the collapse of the Lukoil share price, which hit rock bottom last year. Be that as it may, Russia's second-largest oil producer has been posting record profits, with Western bans offset by surging prices for the commodity and increased trade with the likes of China and India. Lukoil has also been scooping up divested Western energy assets in Russia at bargain prices, which means his net worth is on the rise again. 

Alexander Abramov is on the receiving end of individual sanctions levied by Ukraine, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, which he's attempted to overturn in court. The leading industrialist is chairman of steel behemoth EVRAZ and has a significant stake in the company along with several other Russian billionaires, including Roman Abramovich. EVRAZ, which is incorporated in the UK, is under harsh sanctions too.

The firm, which the UK government describes as being of vital significance to Russia's war machine, was suspended from the London Stock Exchange on 10 March 2022. Its share price had tumbled 87% from the beginning of the year to the date of the suspension, with the company's financials in dire straits to boot. As a consequence, Abramov's fortune slumped by 29% in 2022.

Metals magnate and early Facebook investor Alisher Usmanov derives much of his wealth from a huge stake in Metalloinvest, the Moscow-based iron ore and steel titan he founded in 1999. He bid farewell to 13% of his fortune in 2022. Said to be particularly close to the Putin regime, Usmanov is under sanctions imposed by Ukraine, the US, Canada, EU member states, the UK, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Usmanov has pulled out all the stops to sidestep the penalties, including mounting legal challenges and putting his two UK trophy properties, Beechwood House in London's Highgate and 16th-century manor Sutton Place in Surrey, into irrevocable trusts to prevent the UK authorities from seizing them. Other assets however have been impounded, including his $750 million (£620m) superyacht Dilbar, the world's largest by volume, which was seized in Germany last April. 

And things haven't improved for Usmanov, who was hit by fresh sanctions this month. On 12 April, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that "any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by Usmanov are blocked" and that "all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of Usmanov are prohibited unless authorized by a... license issued by OFAC."

Staying with metals magnates, aluminium mogul Viktor Vekselberg has been sanctioned by Ukraine, the US, Canada, the UK, Poland, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand due to his intimate connections with the Putin regime. Last year, the Kremlin crony saw 35% of his fortune disappear. First and foremost, the source of the bulk of his fortune, aluminium colossus Rusal, lost over 46% of its value in 2022.

Secondly, Vekselberg has had a whole host of overseas assets seized. His $120 million (£99m) superyacht Tango was impounded last April by Spanish police and FBI agents at the Marina Real in Palma de Mallorca, while $1.5 billion (£1.2bn) he'd squirrelled away in US and Swiss bank accounts has been frozen.

Starting out in the 1990s with a chain of currency exchange booths, Andrey Melnichenko went on to found one of Russia's top banks, before moving into commodities. Today, much of his wealth, which dropped by a quarter last year, is tied up in leading fertiliser firm EuroChem and coal-mining company SUEK, both of which have struggled big time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Melnichenko, who's been sanctioned by Ukraine, the US, the EU's member states, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, had transferred ownership of the businesses to his wife, but to no avail. The commodities baron has also had his most treasured possession, Sailing Yacht A, impounded. The world's largest sailing yacht, the $578 million (£478m) Philippe Starck-designed vessel was seized by Italian officials in the port of Trieste last March.

But Melnichenko isn't taking the sanctions quietly. In March this year he and his wife Aleksandra each filed an application in the Federal Court of Canada to have themselves removed from the nation's list of "designated persons", created as part of its Russian sanctions regime. Andrey's application states: "Mr. Melnichenko does not have, and has not had, any association with the Government of Russia or President Putin. He left Russia 20 years ago and has resided in Switzerland for the past 13 years. There is no reasonable basis for the Minister to believe otherwise." Meanwhile, Aleksandra's application claims she has "no connections to Russia whatsoever".

The majority owner of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works, Viktor Rashnikov is being sanctioned by the same sweeping group of countries, and for good reason given his pipe-making and steel firm is playing a key role in Russia's war effort. But the oligarch's fortune has minimal overseas exposure compared to figures such as Viktor Vekselberg and Roman Abramovich.

Still, Rashnikov's fortune shrank by 40% in 2022. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works stock lost more than half its value over the course of the year, no doubt as a direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and since the industrial bigwig holds a 79.8% stake in the business, his net worth has suffered accordingly. 

Adding insult to injury, the French authorities have recently seized a mansion that's believed to have belonged to Rashnikov. It's thought the billionaire put the home up for sale shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, and that it was bought by a fellow Russian for around €23 million ($25.3m/£20.4m). The mansion itself, as well as the proceeds from the sale, are now in French hands.

Putin ally Suleiman Kerimov sustained a bigger blow both overall and in percentage terms, losing 41% of his wealth last year. The billionaire owns 76% of Russia's leading gold producer Polyus and is under sanctions imposed by the full gamut of Western nations, from the US to Japan, which, to make matters worse for him, have also banned Russian imports of the precious metal.

Kerimov, who was already under US sanctions for alleged money laundering, has become adept at safeguarding his personal wealth, but that didn't stop him from losing a bewildering sum last year. For instance, US authorities blocked a shadowy billion-dollar investment vehicle linked to the Russian billionaire and seized his $325 million (£269m) superyacht Amadea.

Adding to existing Russian sanctions on 12 April this year, the UK announced new sanctions against Kerimov's daughter Gulnara, who reportedly owns property on behalf of her father.

As we've mentioned, Vagit Alekperov is the founder of Lukoil, the energy company he set up with the assistance of Leonid Fedun shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. Alekperov owns a 30% stake in the firm which, despite posting record profits last year, saw its share price tumble. This translated to a 30% hit to the oligarch's net worth in 2022.

Alekperov has escaped US and EU sanctions, but Ukraine, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand have all moved to penalise the oil baron, who ended up having to resign as Lukoil CEO. When it comes to assets, Alekperov was able to prevent his two superyachts, Galactica Super Nova and Space, from being impounded last year, but had to relinquish his ownership of top Dutch yacht builder Heesen, with his shares transferred to an independent trust.

While Alekperov suffered in 2022, his fortunes have been looking up considerably in recent months. According to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index released on 3 April this year, Alekperov has added $3.29 billion (£2.65bn) to his fortune since the start of 2023, more than any other sanctioned Russian billionaire.

Like Alekperov, gas tycoon Leonid Mikhelson appears on Ukrainian, Canadian, UK, Australian, and New Zealand sanctions lists, but is absent from those issued by the US and EU, despite the Novatek boss's close links to the Kremlin and other sanctioned oligarchs, notably his business partner Gennady Timchenko. Mikhelson's luck has also extended to his overseas assets.

The cunning billionaire saved his $150 million (£123m) superyacht Pacific last spring by having it sail for a fortnight with its tracking signals switched off before docking in a safe-haven Turkish port. But for all that, Mikhelson lost 24% of his wealth in 2022 and was overtaken by Vladimir Potanin as Russia's richest person. The Novatek chairman and CEO owns around a quarter of the natural gas company, which took a beating on the stock market over the year. 

It might not be long though before Mikhelson reclaims the title of Russia's richest man. As bne IntelliNews reported at the beginning of this month, the appreciation in the value of his stocks means that the sanctioned billionaire gained over $1.65 billion (£1.33bn) in February and March this year. 

Back to Russia's metals magnates, Vladimir Lisin is chairman of NLMK Group, the country's top steel manufacturer. Ukraine and Australia are the only countries that have moved to sanction the oligarch. As is the case with several other billionaires in our round-up, Lisin has been left off certain blacklists for political and strategic reasons. His wealth didn't escape a pounding last year, however.

Lisin owns 79.3% of the steelmaker and this holding is the main source of his wealth. NLMK Group's share price nosedived following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and, despite bouncing back somewhat from its lowest point in October, the stock nonetheless lost over 44% of its value over the course of 2022, hammering Lisin's net worth, which dropped by 30%. 

That being said, Lisin's wealth has started to pick up again in recent months. 

Yet another Russian steel tycoon who forfeited billions last year, Alexey Mordashov had 35% shaved off his net worth. The oligarch holds a majority stake in major steel company Severstal, which performed miserably on the stock market in 2022. Under sanctions levied by the US, Canada, the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, Mordashov saw a number of his most coveted assets slip away during the year.

The metals mogul had to transfer his sizeable stakes in Dutch travel firm TUI Group and multinational gold producer Nordgold. On top of this, last March Italian authorities seized property belonging to Mordashov on the island of Sardinia worth $116 million (£95m), as well as his $71 million (£58m) superyacht Lady M, which was impounded in the port of Imperia. Mordashov has however managed to keep hold of his larger, more valuable craft, the $300 million (£247m) Nord.

The biggest loser in percentage terms, Roman Abramovich was clobbered in the wealth stakes last year, with 57% knocked off his net worth. Sanctioned by Ukraine, Canada, the EU nations, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand, the oligarch allegedly put trusts worth $4 billion (£3.3bn) in his children's names to sidestep the penalties, so it's likely the hit could have been significantly greater. Abramovich's $1.2 billion (£988m) superyacht Eclipse, the most expensive in the world, and $600 million (£494m) superyacht Solaris also escaped being impounded.

Yet last year Abramovich saw luxury homes in London, the French Riviera, and elsewhere worth hundreds of millions of dollars seized, had $7 billion (£5.7bn) of assets frozen by a court in the Channel Island of Jersey, and was forced to give up ownership of his beloved Chelsea FC. The troubled tycoon's stakes in the aforementioned EVRAZ and Norilsk Nickel, the primary sources of his wealth, have also been hit hard, slashing billions off his net worth.

Like fellow oligarch Alisher Usmanov, Abramovich has been targeted in the latest rounds of UK sanctions. In a tweet on 12 April, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced: "Today we are cracking down on oligarch enablers, including the financial fixers for Abramovich and Usmanov... We won't stop until Putin does."

The Russian billionaire who lost more money in 2022 than any other, Gennady Timchenko, whose net worth was down 48% by the end of the year, controls Volga Group, a conglomerate with interests in energy, transportation, and construction. Its largest holding, a 23.5% stake in gas company Novatek, slumped in value last year, as did the group's other key interests.

A staunch supporter and confidant of Putin, Timchenko was put under sanctions by the full spread of Western nations supporting Ukraine following Russia's invasion and has had lavish properties from as far afield as France and Finland seized, as well as his $55 million (£45m) superyacht Lena, which was impounded by Italian authorities in March 2022. 

Now discover which countries are still doing business with Putin's Russia