Russians saw their fortunes grow during last year’s turmoil in Ukraine.
During Joe Biden’s presidency, the Western world lost billions of dollars, with the United States losing the most at $5.9 trillion.
A $600 billion rise in Russia’s total wealth was reported in UBS’s latest annual Global Wealth Report, which was made public on Tuesday.
The Swiss bank found that although the United States and Europe lost billions of dollars, the Russian economy increased during the previous year despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Russia gained about 56,000 millionaires in 2022, bringing the total to 408,000, and an increase of almost 4,500 ultra-high-net-worth people, or those with a net worth of more than $50 million.
However, the United States saw the most significant decrease in wealth of any country in the world in 2018, losing $5.9 trillion, while North America and Europe lost a combined $10.9 trillion, as reported by a UBS poll.
A million fewer Americans will be millionaires by 2022, according to the bank, even though the United States will still be home to more than half of the world’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Russia managed to enhance its wealth even though it invaded Ukraine in February, which led to the West imposing sanctions on the Kremlin, which led to a contraction of the country’s economy and a decline in stocks listed in Moscow.
UBS notes that it is “impossible to determine wealth trends in Russia at this time,” although it did note that Russia was one of just a handful of countries that had been richer in 2022.
Exporting oil is the fundamental economic engine in Russia; therefore, this increase in wealth may be at least somewhat attributable to the growing price of oil. Refinitiv data shows that the price of a barrel of Urals benchmark crude oil rose by around $7 during the previous year.
UBS reports that the United States, Japan, China, Canada, and Australia will lose the most wealth in 2022, while Mexico, India, and Brazil will gain the most.
