Ukrainian oligarchs

The Ukrainian oligarchs are a group of business oligarchs that emerged on the economic and political scene of Ukraine after the 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum. This period saw Ukraine transitioning to a market economy with the rapid privatization of state-owned assets. Those developments mirrored those of the neighbouring post-Soviet states after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The influence of Ukrainian oligarchs on domestic and regional politics, particularly their links to Russia, have been the source of criticism from pro-Western sources critical of Ukraine’s lack of political reform or action against corruption.[1][2]

In 2008, the combined wealth of Ukraine's 50 richest oligarchs was equal to 85% of Ukraine's GDP.[3] In November 2013 this number was 45% (of GDP).[4] By 2015, due to the Ukrainian crisis and the following annexation of Crimea by Russia and the war in Donbass, the total net worth of the five richest and most influential Ukrainians (Rinat Akhmetov, Viktor Pinchuk, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Henadiy Boholyubov and Yuriy Kosiuk) had dropped from $21.6 billion in 2014 to $11.85 billion in June 2015.[5] (In 2014 Ukrainian GDP fell by 7%; in 2015 it shrank 12%.[6])

Usage

Oligarchs are usually defined as businessmen having direct influence on both politics and economy. During the 1990s, the oligarchs emerged as politically-connected entrepreneurs who started from nearly nothing and got rich through participation in the market via connections to the corrupt, but democratically elected government of Ukraine during the state's transition to a market-based economy. Later numerous Ukrainian business-people have "taken over control" of political parties (examples of this are Party of Greens of Ukraine, Labour Ukraine and Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united)[1]) or started new ones to gain seats and influence in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament).

The rise of the oligarchs has been connected to the processes of privatization of state-owned assets. These processes usually involved the distribution of property titles of such enterprises, land, and real estate, on equal base to the whole population of the country, through instruments such as privatization vouchers, certificates, and coupons. Given the different preferences of people in relation to risk-aversity, property titles were easily re-sold. Businessmen who could provide an initial investment capital to collect such property titles could thus easily arrive to the property of whole former public holdings.

The oligarchs' influence on the Ukrainian Government is extreme. In 2011 some analysts and Ukrainian politicians believed that some Ukrainian businesses tycoons, with "lucrative relations" with Russia, were deliberately hindering Ukraine's European Union integration.[7]

List of oligarchs by wealth

In an annualised report published by Novoye Vremya in 2019, the top 100 wealthiest business people in Ukraine were identified. According to the report, the total wealth of the top 100 accounted for 23% of Ukrainian GDP. The report identified that the hundred wealthiest Ukrainians control around $34.8 billion, down $2.7 billion from 2018, of which $30.6 billion lies with the 50 richest.[8][9]

The top 10 Ukrainian oligarchs were identified as:

Rank Oligarch Value Change from 2018 Notes
1Rinat Akhmetov$9.629 billion-21%Energy generation and distribution, coal and iron ore mining, metallurgy, media industry
2Victor Pinchuk$2,310 billion-14%Steel rolling, media industry
3Vadym Novynskyi$1.767 billion-22%Metallurgy, Shipbuilding, Russian Orthodox Church
4Ihor Kolomoyskyi$1.480 billion-8%Banking, crude oil
5Henadiy Boholyubov$1.376 billion-16%Banking
6Petro Poroshenko$1.253 billion+ 12%Vehicle manufacturing, confectionery
7Oleksandr and Halyna Hereha$930 million+10%retail
8Dmytro Firtash$792 million+62%Important figure in gas and chemical industries
9Kostyantyn Zhevago$744 million+30%Banking, vehicle manufacturing, iron ore mining
10Mykola Zlochevsky$686 million+8%Owner of Burisma

Chernenko study

An economic study by Demid Chernenko identified 35 oligarchic groups based on data points between 2002 – 2016:[10]

Oligarch group Owners (members) Notes
System Capital ManagementRinat Akhmetov
Smart HoldingVadym Novynskyi, Andriy Klyamko
Energy StandardKostiantyn Hryhoryshyn
Industrial Union of DonbasSerhiy Taruta, Oleh Mkrtchian, Vitaliy Haiduk
EnergoViktor Nusenkis, Leonid Baisarov
Privat GroupIhor Kolomoyskyi, Henadiy Boholyubov, Oleksiy Martynov
Group DFDmytro Firtash, Serhiy Lyovochkin, Yuriy Boyko
Universal Investment GroupVitaliy Antonov
AzovmashYuriy Ivanyushchenko, Arsen Ivanyushchenko
KernelAndriy Verevskyi
Motor SichVyacheslav Bohuslayev
Ukrprominvest/RoshenPetro Poroshenko, Yuriy Kosiuk, Oleksiy Vadaturskyi
NordValentyn Landyk
Finance and CreditKostyantyn Zhevago, Oleksiy Kucherenko
AstartaViktor Ivanchyk, Valeriy Korotkov
DynamoHryhoriy Surkis, Ihor Surkis, Viktor Medvedchuk
InterpipeVictor Pinchuk
TASSerhiy Tihipko
Konti/APK-InvestBorys Kolesnikov
ObolonOleksandr Slobodyan
UkrinterproductOleksandr Leshchinskyi
StirolMykola Yankovskyi
Creativ GroupStanislav Berezkin
Development Construction HoldingOleksandr Yaroslavskyi
AVKVolodymyr Avramenko, Valeriy Kravets
Concern AVECOleksandr Feldman
AvalFedir Shpig
UkrsotsbankValeriy Khoroshkovskyi
PravexLeonid Chernovetskyi and his family
Forum GroupLeonid Yurushev
UverconEduard Prutnik
ContinuumIhor Yeremeyev, Serhiy Lahur, Stepan Ivakhiv
EpiCentre KOleksandr Hereha, Halyna Hereha
Cascade InvestmentVitaliy Khomutynnik
NeftegazobychaNestor Shufrych, Mykola Rudkovskyi

See also

References

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