Russia's Billionaires: The STILL Extravagant Lifestyles Of The Oligarchs (PHOTOS)

The financial crisis dealt a blow to the upper crust of Russia's financial elite last year, diminishing the worth of the country's 10 richest tycoons by about two-thirds. The number of Russian billionaires, tallied last year at just over 100, was cut in half.

But despite such massive losses, Russia's richest remain powerful financiers on the world stage. Last month, Mikhail Prokhorov, currently the wealthiest person in Russia, arranged a deal to buy the the NBA's New Jersey Nets and partially fund the basketball team's new arena at Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards.

With an eye to how these leading business titans are doing during the recession, we took a look at the fortunes of the flushest, most powerful men in Russia this year, and a few themes emerged. Some make a spectacle of their fortunes, but not all of them are flashy. Many of them have a thing for sports teams. None are over 60. Who's living the most obscenely extravagant lifestyle? Check them out and vote below.

Oleg Deripaska -- Net Worth $3.5 Billion

Last year, 'Aluminum King' Oleg Deripaska (pictured at right at the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg), was worth $28 billion and ranked as Russia's richest man. But the sinking value of his investments -- namely in Norilsk Nickel, which lost 80% of its value after he acquired his 25% share in the company -- depleted his assets to $3.5 billion. Deripaska, 41, has been denied entry to the United States multiple times, but he owns a lavish estate in London, where he has been known to fly frequently -- sometimes as often as once a week -- to practice his English.

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Comments

[Ventoi]

10:00 AM on 10/09/2009

I saw the sign...

if YOU are Li

then Pi

might be Pierre...oh.

Prête-moi ta plume, alright.

[Ventoi]

08:37 AM on 10/09/2009

Lisin,

you short, squat, wide-rib caged little Russian...

that looks like my father's gun....

Here

[NeoconGal]

10:30 PM on 10/08/2009

How come our mafia don't have luxury yachts like that?

[MyLIberalKos]

12:14 PM on 10/07/2009

Everything but the little people have become too big to fail.

Everyday we pay the consequences of Reaganomics and neoconservative economics

good articles; http://iamned1.blogspot.com

80's: Arthur Laffer, MIlton Freidman, Greenspan, Alexander M. Haig, Jr, Donald T. Regan, James A. Baker 3rd,
Later: Robert Rubin, Bernanke, Paulson

[tedmore123]

02:10 PM on 10/06/2009

Rumor has it they like to wield shot guns whilst roming small villages
where they shoot the common folk. Shocking? No, they maintain they
are merely 'peasant hunting'.


Hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah aaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahhaahhahahahahahahahahah

[equianimi]

02:06 PM on 10/06/2009

So these are the Rothschild's, Aldrich's, and Rockefeller's of Russia. At least every now and then we have an Oprah I guess... you know someone that works there way to filthy wealth.

[kidolympic]

01:51 PM on 10/06/2009

The politics of these four steps. It e hard to aren't difficult getstimulus small businesses, public schools, childrens' health, THE average working people who need a tax cut; but, no member who's up for reelection can snackpackage through Congress, when next year e digits wants to be accused ~~ unemployment is likely to be doubl by rivals steps to heconomic times may be i-technical recovery but this is not a real recovery and the green shoots the red in storethat Wall Street cheerleaders love to shout about -- (phantoms) of thee-ever-optimistic imaginotreco
Aganmistake to say the September members alter that significantly. Greenspin has turned into an inverse soothsayer. After his cataclysmic error about where the economy was headed before the meltdown, his views sintered about the future should be carefully noted as being the exact opposite of what's likely to be in store. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqgtsai2aKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRYWlFMmhMc&feature=related

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-phantom-recovery-and_b_309931.html

[voltage356]

01:45 PM on 10/06/2009

I was taught that the communist s had no money. Boy, did they pulled a wool over my eye.

[gunnergoz]

01:50 PM on 10/06/2009

Guess what - in modern Russia, the Communists still have no money. These oligarchs are mostly criminal opportunists who used nefarious means to purchase the nation's infrastructure and industry during the early days after the fall of the Soviet Union.

[voltage356]

02:12 PM on 10/06/2009

So i take it all these things went out the window along with the bath water.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm

[Ventoi]

10:01 AM on 10/09/2009

The whole point of communism...
which must exist for the whole country...

I was ALSO taught...

is to ensure EVERYBODY has the aame amount...

you earn...
you give back...

you actually are not supposed to earn it in the first place...

maybe its why they live in boats...

not allowed to set foot in Russia without giving it back.

[voltage356]

01:44 PM on 10/06/2009

Wait a min, have i been lied too. I was taught that the communist s had no money. Boy, did they pulled a wool over my eye.

[gunnergoz]

01:41 PM on 10/06/2009

In Russia, Putin reins in the oligarchs and keeps them from gaining any political power. In the US, the oligarchs are the political power.

[escomments]

04:47 PM on 10/06/2009

The difference is?

[escomments]

04:49 PM on 10/06/2009

Putin whacks his political opposition.

[AngusC]

01:36 PM on 10/06/2009

These guys are just the lowest and most corrupt forms of human beings.
They, especially Putin make me nauseous.

[MosheDayanHero]

01:08 PM on 10/06/2009

One of the oligarchs is in jail and his corporation nationalized.
Now it's your turn, U.S.

[GerryS]

04:47 PM on 10/06/2009

we owe more than one turn, possibly 10-20 turns?-------------------------------

[FreedomCorpse]

12:41 PM on 10/06/2009

And the 'little people' have paid dearly with blood, sweat and tears for the unashamed opulence of the wealthy.

[bpafree]

12:38 PM on 10/06/2009

We have so much in common with our Russian neighbors. Thanks for sharing HufPo.

[JoshPr]

12:34 PM on 10/06/2009

Irritating