Many Ukrainians dreamed of it, Russia did it. The power of the Ukrainian oligarchs has been severely weakened since the war began in February 2022. Their economic, political and media weight was considerable there, much more so than, for example, in Russia, where the presence of an authoritarian leader like Vladimir Putin limits their influence. The new Forbes ranking, published on December 27, shows that the wealth of the top 20 fortunes in Ukraine has halved to $20 billion since the war began, but mostly they own Profile, that has changed. The war also marks a turning point in the landscape of Ukrainian capitalism.
Many oligarchs, who have topped the rankings since the country gained independence after the fall of the Soviet empire in 1991, have been replaced by tech entrepreneurs for the first time. The latter now occupy seven of the top 20 spots. This sector is one of the ones that best withstood the Russian invasion. Unlike the steel industry, agriculture or mining, which made the fortunes of the old oligarchs thanks to their proximity to political power, start-ups escape destruction more easily.
They were resettled west of the country or abroad in record time. Such is the case at SoftServe, whose founding boss Taras Kytsmey only admits to having had “a little stress” when it was necessary to relocate its employees’ 3,500 families to western Ukraine and another 1,800 abroad. Companies in this sector have another major advantage: they are international. SoftServe has offices in thirteen countries, and its customers are often overseas. Grammarly, which ranked Ukrainians Max Lytvyn and Alex Shevchenko’s fortunes second and third, is actually based in San Francisco.
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The eruption of tech entrepreneurs in the Forbes ranking can also and primarily be explained by the fall of captains of industry whose fortunes are being amputated by annexations and destruction. Rinat Akhmetov, for example, saw his wealth shrink by $9.3 billion during the war, although he remains Ukraine’s wealthiest businessman with a fortune of $4.4 billion. Losses were so severe that in June he brought a lawsuit against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights for confiscation of his assets. Victor Pinchuk, fourth in the ranking, is one of the few who hasn’t seen his fortune dwindle, despite owning many factories in the east of the country. Forbes reasoning: “Two-thirds of his wealth comes from foreign real estate and cash. »
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