Vladimir Putin’s net worth likely makes him the richest man in the world despite never having appeared on a Forbes list.  He does not have verifiable wealth like Bernard Arnault, who recently took the official top spot.  That’s because the source of his wealth is from corruption and much of it is held by his friends and family.  

You need to follow a dark trail to calculate Vladimir Putin’s wealth, but by most estimates it’s over $200 billion.  That would put him atop the current “real time billionaires” list headed by Arnault. 

This likely reality is a far contrast from the image Putin wants to display as a humble statesman who cares more for Russian hearts than pocketbooks.  As a man who enjoys many luxuries, however, from watches to mega-yachts and palaces, it’s impossible to hide everything.  That’s especially true in a digital era of investigative journalism and major leaks from sources like the Panama Papers.  

By combining information from various sources, a clearer picture of Putin’s vast wealth emerges. 

The “official” Kremlin numbers

According to the Kremlin, Putin lives modestly.  In 2018, for example, he submitted an official income declaration that stated he owned the following: 

• One 800-square-foot apartment in St. Petersburg
• Two Soviet-era cars; and 
• One off-road truck 

That same year the Kremlin said his annual income was about $140,000.  While that may be a good income in Russia, it’s not consistent with Putin’s lifestyle.

Putin lives in luxury

It’s like the scene from American Gangster when Denzel Washington’s character – the drug kingpin – arrives at a boxing match and sits ringside in an ostentatious fur coat.  The FBI took notice.

Putin betrays his relatively modest reported income with his luxury watches alone.  Back in 2012, his watch collection was reportedly worth at least $700,000.  A Russian group even made a video at the time highlighting the irony of Putin decrying corruption while wearing exclusive chronographs on his government salary.  

But apparently the cost of watches are of little concern to Putin.  He has given away at least three Blancpain Léman Aqua Lung Grande Dates (~$11,700 per watch).  One was given to a factory worker, another to a shepherd’s son, and the last to liquid concrete at a building site.

That watch is nothing, however, compared to his A. Lange & Söhne Tourbograph Perpetual “Pour le Mérite” (~$560,000) and multiple Patek Philippes (a collection potentially worth millions).

These watches fit perfectly on Putin’s $100 million mega-yacht and at his Black Sea palace.  Unlike the watches, these other assets have not been linked to Putin directly.  But for anyone who knows Putin’s history, that’s by design.  

Boris Nemtsov’s reporting on Putin’s corruption

Some of the best and earliest reporting on Putin’s corruption was from Boris Nemtsov.  Tragically, Nemtsov paid for it with his life.  He was murdered while walking near the Kremlin in 2015.

Prior to his assassination, Nemtsov had reported extensively on the web of bribes and kickbacks Putin had personally orchestrated ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics.  Nemtsov estimated that $26 billion was embezzled or laundered for the Olympics alone.     

“Putin is part of a mafia” – Boris Nemtsov 

Nemtsov placed one of the first spotlights directly on Putin’s hidden wealth and his method of dealing – always in the shadows, assisting close confidants, and disassociated from any assets while clearly benefiting from them.

Approximately one year after Nemtsov’s assassination, an even greater spotlight was placed on Putin’s corruption. 

The Panama Papers revealed how Putin hides his wealth through a network of confidants

Although his name didn’t appear explicitly, the leaked financial records revealed a network of Putin confidants who had each earned millions from deals that would have required Kremlin approval and oversight.   

From Sergei Roldugin to Yuri Kovalchuk, the Panama Papers were replete with Putin’s friends, personal bankers, and oligarchs.  They showed how anyone close to Putin was flush with cash and expensive assets.  

One theory posits that many of these close confidants hold assets in their names on behalf of Putin.  Whether to avoid sanctions or public scrutiny, they may technically own the assets, while the true owner is Putin, the puppet master pulling the strings.  

Alexey Navalny further revealed the scope of Putin’s corruption

Navalny largely picked up where Nemtsov and the Panama Papers left off.  He has also paid for it dearly from poisonings to imprisonment.  

One of his most viral pieces of Putin content was a video of “Putin’s Palace”, the Black Sea mansion many tie to the Kremlin leader.  Putin may have denied it belonged to him, but one of his childhood friends claimed it was his.  

Arkady Rotenberg said he was the owner of the opulent estate while Navalny characterized it as “the largest bribe in history.”  The palace has an estimated value of $1.37 billion. 

Most of Navalny’s other reporting is consistent with what Nemtsov and the Panama Papers revealed in the past.  Transactions tied to Putin are often recorded at multiples far higher than fair market value, suggesting someone was consistently laundering and benefiting from the cost overruns.  

And there’s only one person who consistently appears over the years. Putin.

Vladimir Putin’s net worth may never be truly known

A team of forensic accountants and lawyers would probably be required to sort through the morass of Putin’s wealth.  Assuming they even had access to the right documents, of course.

For Putin, image is everything.  Although he simply can’t help himself with certain luxury items like watches.  But overall, he wants the Russian people and the world to see one thing while living a totally different reality.  

It’s also no coincidence that two of Putin’s biggest critics who closed in on his corruption and net worth were either assassinated or almost assassinated (i.e., Navalny survived poisoning ). 

Putin, like most autocrats, rules by fear and force.  Silencing critics like Nemtsov and Navalny is as much about retribution as it is deterrence.  

The more we can reveal the vast scale of Putin’s corruption though, the better.  While it is unlikely to reach the people who need to hear it the most – those living under his rule in Russia – it will hopefully illustrate to any foreign apologists or supporters that defending Putin inevitably places you on the wrong side of history.  

Putin is likely not a character who enjoys a happy ending.  Few autocrats who consistently pilfer public coffers do.  Just ask Gaddafi.     

While nobody should underestimate Putin, and his end is far from clear, one thing is reasonably certain.  Putin has a substantial net worth to live comfortably for the rest of his life.