The Russian Oligarch Billionaires Who Haven’t Been Sanctioned

Much has been made of the sanctions against Russia’s oligarchs. Forbes counts 25 Russian billionaires who have been sanctioned by the U.S., U.K. or EU; 11 of these billionaires were hit with sanctions prior to the Ukraine invasion, in response to Russia’s attack and subsequent annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Less discussed is the number of Russian oligarch billionaires who have not been sanctioned: 45, by Forbes’ estimate, as of April 8. These CEOs and large shareholders of Russian firms are virtually unknown in the U.S. and Europe, but all have gotten richer under Putin’s rule and, in turn, their power and wealth have been foundational to Putin’s kleptocracy and Russian inequality.

As for why some have been spared, the answer is complicated. Consider Vagit Alekperov, the founder of Lukoil, which produces 2% of the world’s oil. Seen as comparatively independent, Alekperov remains unsanctioned, likely because he is viewed by the West as a counterweight to state-owned Rosneft’s sanctioned boss, Igor Sechin. Less clear is why oligarchs like Leonid Mikhelson, whose partner Gennady Timchenko is a Putin pal (and was one of the first people sanctioned in 2014), have not been sanctioned.

Here is the complete list of unsanctioned Russian oligarch billionaires, with links to each oligarch’s estimated net worth and short bios. (Fourteen Russian oligarchs who were billionaires before the war, but whose fortunes have since plunged below $1 billion, are not included in this list).

The 45 Unsanctioned Russian Oligarch Billionaires:

Alexander Abramov

Vagit Alekperov

Igor Altushkin

Vasily Anisimov

Elena Baturina

Andrei Bokarev

Oleg Boyko

Nikolai Buinov

Leonid Fedun

Gleb Fetisov

Alexander Frolov

Sergei Gordeev

Zarakh Iliev

Dmitry Kamenshchik

Samvel Karapetyan

Viktor Kharitonin

Andrei Komarov

Pyotr Kondrashev

Andrei Kozitsyn

Egor Kulkov

Vladimir Lisin

Anatoly Lomakin

Igor Makarov

Iskander Makhmudov

Alexander Mamut

Leonid Mikhelson

Alexander Nesis

God Nisanov

Sergei Popov

Vladimir Potanin

Mikhail Prokhorov

Megdet Rahimkulov & family

Andrei Rappoport

Alexey Repik

Dmitry Rybolovlev

Ivan Savvidis

Airat Shaimiev

Radik Shaimiev

Mikhail Shelkov

Albert Shigaboutdinov

Alexander Skorobogatko

Rustem Sulteev

Vladimir Yevtushenkov

Gavril Yushvaev

Igor Yusufov