Among the eight billionaires who were taken off the Russian Forbes list in 2026, only four were removed because their businesses became less valuable. Three others had their assets nationalized by the state: Dmitry Kamenshchik lost Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, Konstantin Strukov his gold mining operations and Denis Shtengelov his food conglomerate. Finally, one person, Yandex founder Arkady Volozh, was removed from the list due to renouncing his Russian citizenship.
Overall, Russia’s billionaire class is doing well. In 2026, its collective wealth finally surpassed the 2021 level — $697 billion versus $663 billion. This recovery was made possible by the largely successful export reorientation away from the West, the expanding domestic consumer market and the seizure of Western assets in Russia. Nevertheless, the specter of wartime nationalization looms large and by mid-2026, the drivers of wartime wealth expansion are likely to be exhausted.
Russian oligarchs find themselves in an awkward position. The opportunities for internationalization are severely limited due to Western sanctions. Domestic growth, however, is also problematic. In 2025, Russia’s GDP grew by only 1% while the non-war economy actually contracted. The low-hanging fruit for these tycoons to expand their domestic market share by seizing Western operations in Russia has already been picked. Further expansion at home is probably possible, but it would require a massive long-term investment. Does it make sense to invest, however, if the state can simply nationalize your assets?
