Ukraine News: Is Zelenskyy a billionaire?
How big is the fortune of the Ukrainian President
Created: 2022-06-20 08:36
By: Patricia Huber
How rich is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy really?
© Ukraine Presidency/Ukraine Presi/Imago Images
In view of the Ukraine war, the propaganda battle on the Internet is picking up speed.
Now the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenkyj and his fortune are also coming into focus.
Kyiv - Is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a billionaire?
This claim has appeared repeatedly on the Internet in recent days - mostly spread by pro-Russian social media accounts.
Host Lee Stranahan, who works for Russia's state radio station Sputnik, also asked himself on Twitter: "Why is Zelenskyj a billionaire?" But according to
Forbes
magazine, the question is quite easy to answer.
Ukraine News: This is how Selenskyj's fortune is made up
So the president isn't worth $1.4 billion, as some claim.
Since the start of the Ukraine war there have only been seven billionaires in the country, but Zelenky is said not to be one of them.
Forbes Ukraine
put his fortune
at $20 million.
Forbes US
speaks of less than 30 million US dollars.
That's a long way from the billion-sound barrier.
Shares in the Ukrainian media group Studio Kvartal 95, which he co-founded, make up the largest part of his fortune.
The media group produces comedy shows.
Selenskyj worked as an actor and comedian before taking office as president.
According to Forbes Ukraine
, Zelenskyi owns a 25 percent stake in the company, which equates to around $11 million.
Ukraine-News: President Zelenskyj owns several properties
The Ukrainian President has also invested in real estate.
According to the magazine's research, the most expensive apartment is in one of Ukraine's most posh residential buildings in the center of Kyiv.
But even this place to stay is still quite modest by Western standards.
There are also two more apartments and a commercial property.
In total, his properties are worth four million US dollars.
There is no evidence for claims that the politician and comedian is also the owner of several luxury yachts or private jets.
According to Forbes
, there is also no
indication of a large share capital .
The magazine suspects that there are about two million dollars in the joint bank account of Zelenskyj and his wife Olena Zelenska.
The remaining assets, like two cars and some jewelry, are said to be worth no more than $1 million.
The Ukrainian president is still a long way from billionaire status.
In addition, given the Russian invasion, the status question is unlikely to bother him at the moment.
(ph)