The Kremlin claims that Putin earns an annual salary of $140,000. His publicly disclosed assets include an 800-square foot apartment, a trailer, and three cars.
But according to some experts, he may be the wealthiest man in the world with assets totaling up to $200 billion.
While that is a ridiculous amount of money for anyone to have, this figure may not be so far-fetched for Putin. Here’s why:
Luxury watch collection
Putin is often seen sporting high-end luxury watches that are retailed for multiple times his supposed annual income.
Patek Philippe’s Perpetual Calendar watch, at $60,000, has been photographed on his wrist, as has an A. Lange & Sohne Toubograph, for $500,000, as well as other pricey timepieces.
$1,4 billion in resources An oceanfront home on the Black Sea
Vladimir Putin is supposed to own a 190,000-square-foot estate perched on a rock overlooking the Black Sea, according to reports. This beachfront property is known as “Putin’s Country Cottage” for a reason: it’s the country’s largest private dwelling.
There are frescoed ceilings, a marble swimming pool surrounded by Greek god statues, spas with traditional hammams, a music parlor, dressing rooms for all of Putin’s staff, an amphitheater, an ice hockey rink of the latest technology, a casino in the style of Vegas, an underground nightclub with stripper poles, and a barroom with more than $100,000 in wine and spirits on display, the estate is Putin’s playland.
This property is said to be decorated by an Italian luxury brand named Citterio Atena that includes Louis XIV style sofas, $500,000 worth of dining room furnishings, and an impressive $54,000 bar table. There are also $1,250 toilet paper holders and $850 Italian toilet brushes.
A 40-person crew spends $2 million a year only to maintain the property’s grounds on top of all the opulent furniture.
For a total of $1.4 billion, Italian architect Lanfranco Cirillo designed and built the Black Sea Mansion. There is speculation, as reported by Reuters, that the 1.3 trillion rubles national project “Health” was used to launder the funds for this extravagant project. As part of this project, the government purchased expensive medical equipment from a company owned by Putin’s friends Shamalov and Gorelov at inflated prices. Belize-based company’s Swiss bank accounts suggest that the two men transferred $56 million. The money from Belize was then moved to a Medea Investment account, which was then in the hands of Cirillo’s company, Medea Investment. Russia’s Moscow Times says that Shamalov, Gorelov, and Cirillo deny the charges.
The Kremlin claims the palace belongs to a wealthy businessman and denies Putin owns it. As a result of Russian experts’ claims, no businessman may have FSB (Russia’s federal security service) protect his or her properties with an airspace no-fly zone over it.
Cars, planes, and helicopters are all examples of transportation modes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is rumored to own 58 planes and helicopters, including the $716 million “Flying Kremlin,” which features a toilet made of gold, in addition to the Black Sea Mansion and 19 other properties. Considering his fondness for neoclassical architecture, it’s hardly surprising.
A Russian nuclear submarine designer has also built one of the most expensive mega-yachts ever built, costing $100 million.
The Threat of a $200 Billion Blackmail Arrangement
During a hearing to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, Bill Browder, a financier, estimated Putin’s wealth at $200 billion after a Moscow court sentenced businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky to prison in 2003 for fraud and tax evasion:
“Oligarchs went to Putin after Khodorkovsky’s conviction and asked him how they could avoid the same fate as Khodorkovsky. Putin’s response appeared to be, “50 percent,” but it was clear that he wasn’t referring to the Russian government or the Russian presidential administration as a whole, but rather Vl “despise Putin as an individual”
Atop that, in 2016, a $2 billion network of offshore trades and loans exposed by the infamous Panama Papers all pointed to Putin.
Despite this, Vladimir has only admitted to a different kind of wealth:
“I am the richest man in the world, and I don’t just mean financially. The Russian people have twice trusted me with the leadership of a huge country like Russia, which has made me wealthy. That’s what I hold most dear.”
Despite a mountain of evidence against him, the Russian president continues to play the role of an ordinary bureaucrat with a middle-class lifestyle.
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