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His fortune is estimated at US$7.3 billion.
Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, the owner of SCM financial and industrial group, again topped the rating of Ukraine's 100 wealthiest people in 2020.
Akhmetov's fortune is estimated at US$7.3 billion, the Ukrainian news outlet Glavred said on September 14, referring to the list of 100 richest Ukrainians published by the national Ukrainian weekly Focus.
"His interests include various areas, although he receives key dividends as an owner of major assets in the energy and steel industries," the publication said.
The runner-up is oligarch Victor Pinchuk, the owner of Interpipe integrated pipe and wheel company, with a fortune of US$2.4 billion. Although Pinchuk often appears in the media as a businessman selling off his assets (in the banking and gas production), his metallurgical and pipe businesses remain profitable.
Dmytro Firtash, owner of Group DF, ranked third with US$1.8 billion. He is noted as a successful entrepreneur in chemical industry and mineral fertilizers production, which is one of his key businesses. "In recent years, Firtash has been in the spotlight of international litigation. In the spring of 2014, he was detained by the Austrian police tactical unit COBRA at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. He is suspected of giving US$18.5 million in bribe to obtain a license for titanium deposit development in India to further sell titanium to Boeing. However, Firtash was never convicted or expelled from Austria. On February 21, 2017, the Vienna court greenlighted Firtash's extradition to the United States, but the businessman still remains in the EU," reads the article.
Smart Holding owner Vadym Novinsky, a Ukrainian Parliament Member, took the fourth position with US$1.5 billion. "Vadym Novinsky's companies operate in many industries – from financial and real estate sectors to mineral mining. One of his key assets is a 25% stake in Metinvest holding, where he partners with Rinat Akhmetov," the article said.
Ex-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the owner of Roshen Confectionery Corporation, ranked fifth with a US$1.3 billion fortune. "As before, Poroshenko's main income is associated with the Roshen Corporation. His confectionery assets have been managed by a trust under the Rothschild investment bank since 2014, but Poroshenko's eldest son, Oleksiy, became the owner [of Roshen] in 2019," the publication reported.
Spouses Oleksandr and Halyna Herehas became sixth with US$1.2 billion. "Spouses Oleksandr and Halyna continue to build their business empire investing in agricultural assets, in parallel with the development of construction hypermarket chains, namely Epicenter and Nova Linia," reads the article.
Ukrainian MP, co-owner of a number of regional power distribution companies and Russian President Vladimir Putin's crony Viktor Medvedchuk is worth US$1.2 billion, ranking seventh. It is noted that a number of Russian and offshore companies are registered in the name of Medvedchuk's wife Oksana Marchenko.
Co-owner of the Privat Group Ihor Kolomoisky occupied the eighth spot with US$1.2 billion. "Kolomoisky receives the lion's share of dividends from his assets in steel industry ... In general, Kolomoisky's enterprises are performing well, although due to the hike in electricity prices their profitability dropped sharply last year, but not for long," the article said.
Other co-owner of the Privat Group Hennady Boholiubov ranked ninth with US$984 million. "The businessman draws major dividends from oil and gas assets," authors said.
Co-owner of Fozzy Group Volodymyr Kostelman completes the TOP 10 with a net worth of US$856 million.
"The way out of the economic crisis largely depends on a policy the state is pursuing with regard to businesses, including the wealthiest Ukrainians' assets that are difficult, although possible, to estimate," the article says.
Journalists say they applied a new method of assessing fortunes when compiling the 2020 rating.