Moscow - Steel magnate Vladimir Lisin is Russia's new richest man after a year which saw all the top oligarchs in the country defy the financial crisis and increase their fortunes, a report said on Monday.
Lisin, the publicity-shy owner of leading steel producer Novolipetsk Steel, saw his fortune rise to $18.8bn from $7.7bn in 2009, according to the 2010 rich list of the Russian magazine Finans.
The increase of his wealth on the back of a strong year for the company's share price knocked off last year's leader - the billionaire owner of the Onexim investment fund Mikhail Prokhorov - from his perch.
Prokhorov's fortune amounted to $17.85bn, compared with $14.1bn last year, putting him into second place, Finans said.
Third place was occupied by the owner of Chelsea football club, Roman Abramovich, who boasted a fortune of $17.0bn compared with $13.9bn last year.
Oleg Deripaska, majority shareholder in steel maker UC Rusal and the oligarch who took the hardest hit from the crisis, also saw a recovery in his fortune to $13.8bn.
This put Deripaska, who in 2008 was Russia's richest man with a colossal fortune of $40bn according to Finans, in sixth place in 2010, the magazine said.
Keep careful distance from politics
Russia's richest men - many of whom made their fortunes in the chaotic privatisations of the 1990s and then accrued major political influence - were hit hard by the onset of the financial crisis in 2008.
They also now keep a careful distance from politics, especially after the jailing of former richest man and oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky in what his supporters say was punishment for daring to criticise the Kremlin.
The Finans list showed that while the fortunes of Russia's oligarchs were still off their 2008 pre-crisis highs, they are making something of a comeback with all the top players increasing their value in the 2010 list.
Lisin, whose base is the southwestern Russian city of Lipetsk, is less prominent than some of his more flamboyant predecessors as Russia's richest man.
Unlike some of his counterparts, he is rarely spied at glitzy socialite events.
Finans said he was "the least expected pretender (to the title of richest man) in the history of the publication of the rich list."
93rd richest man in the world
But Finans described him as a "tsar" in the city of Lipetsk, where he also owns most of the local media, is one of the main builders of homes and also has acquired an energy firm.
It said he had profited from his cautious strategy in turbulent times and ability to keep profit margins high and expenditures low, helped by owning assets throughout the steel production chain.
"Lisin's strategy is well suited for work in stagnating markets. He acknowledges his mistakes on time, gets rid of risky assets. He keeps his distance from the Kremlin. He is happy not to have publicity," said Finans.
"His assets are a tasty morsel for investors."
Last year the US magazine Forbes estimated Lisin's fortune at a much lower $5.2bn, making him the 93rd richest man in the world.
- AFP