Who is Europe’s Richest Man…Vladimir Putin?
America’s Time magazine recently crowned Russian President Vladimir Putin as ‘Man of the Year’ and carried an article “A Tzar is Born”. But Russian Tsars of yore were always rich…so how can Putin lag behind?
The Guardian reports: “The claims over the president’s assets surfaced last month when the Russian political expert Stanislav Belkovsky gave an interview to the German newspaper Die Welt. They have since been repeated in the Washington Post and the Moscow Times, with speculation over the fortune appearing on the internet.
“Citing sources inside the president’s administration, Belkovsky claims that after eight years in power Putin has secretly accumulated more than $40bn (£20bn). The sum would make him Russia’s – and Europe’s – richest man…” More here…
I wonder if there is any country in the world where the leader and his/her henchmen live a modest life in the service of their country and the people??? It is a great wonder that the world survives despite leaders who seem hell bent in trashing the system and filling their own (or their henchmen’s) coffers…
3 Responses to “Who is Europe’s Richest Man…Vladimir Putin?”
At least one of us already has speculated aloud about Gazprom $$$.
Wow, Putin is a scary, scary man. Ruthless, as politically connected as you can get, and rich enough to buy countries.
Well, Bush did claim, upon meeting Putin, that he had found a kindred spirit…. both leaders have enormously enriched their backers.
Granted it happens all the time, but not to the extent (and circumstances) we’ve seen under Bush.