Coming in at around $86 billion, Bill Gates has ridden his Microsoft
MSFT, -0.20% fortune straight to the top
of
the Forbes list of the world’s richest men. Then again, the
business magazine doesn’t take into account the world leaders and “dictators
who derive their fortunes entirely as a result of their position of power.”
If it did, there’d be a new top dog, according to several reports that
revisited the idea that Vladimir Putin’s net worth, virtually impossible to
measure, tops $200 billion.
International Business Times
triggered the latest round of speculation when it resurfaced
various guesses as to the degree of Putin’s riches. One source said it’s only
about $40 billion, while another put it up near $70 billion.
Then there’s Bill Browder, a former fund manager in Russia.
“I believe that [Putin is worth] $200 billion,” he
once told CNN. “After 14 years in power of Russia, and the
amount of money that the country has made, and the amount of money that hasn’t
been spent on schools and roads and hospitals and so on, all that money is in
property, bank, Swiss bank accounts, shares, hedge funds, managed for Putin and
his cronies.”
John Oliver fueled the buzzy topic when he spent the bulk of his “Last Week
Tonight” show on HBO this weekend dancing around the Putin topic. Oliver
mentioned estimates pegging his wealth at $85 billion, which would put him in a
virtual tie with Gates atop the list.
“Although he strenuously denies it, nothing about his finances adds up,”
Oliver said before launching into a list of extravagances that clearly aren’t
possible on Putin’s reported $100,000 salary. For instance, previous reports
have suggested that Putin owns 58 planes and helicopters to go along with his
20 palaces and country retreats, including
a billion-dollar home on the Black Sea.
Watch the entire Oliver segment:
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com