Russians hold as much wealth offshore as inside Russia
The holdings are estimated at three times the country's foreign currency reserves.
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com · Inequality and social stratification in Russia during the Putin regime: From market transition to war on UkraineBy one estimate from the Putin era, Russians hold as much wealth offshore as they hold inside Russia. Researchers who combined tax records, bank data, and other sources put offshore holdings at triple the central bank's foreign-currency stockpile and roughly matching all wealth kept at home.
The authors point to the Forbes tally, about 100 Russians on average, as a sign that wealth is unusually concentrated.
In a closing note on attitudes, researcher Schimpfossl, who conducted 80 interviews with billionaires and multimillionaires, found they strongly backed evolutionary and genetic ideas that present their riches as deserved on merit.
Questions people ask
How can researchers measure offshore wealth if it is hidden?
They do not count it directly. Economists combine tax filings, central bank payment records, bank deposits in tax havens, and rich lists to infer what is missing from domestic records. The result is an estimate, which is why different studies give different numbers.
Is 100 billionaires a lot for Russia?
Researchers treat it as a sign of exceptionally concentrated wealth. Russia's economy is smaller than those of the United States, China, or Germany, yet it regularly ranks near the top for billionaire counts. That mismatch is why the number stands out.