According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the fortune of the richest citizen of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili, reached a record high USD 6.55 billion, since he had been in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of Bloomberg, Ivanishvili's fortune was estimated at USD 5.7 billion at the beginning of 2023, and it increased by USD 855 million during the year.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index has been evaluating Ivanishvili's property since 2013. At the beginning, the amount of Ivanishvili's property was estimated at USD 6.4 billion, but soon it was reduced to USD 5.6 billion, and since then it has fluctuated between USD 5.1- USD 6 billion during the past 10 years.
The majority of Ivanishvili's fortune is derived from proceeds he collected selling privatized assets acquired after the fall of the Soviet Union. Among them: iron ore producers Stoylensky and Mikhailovsky GOKs, and the Orlovsky steel plant.
Based on his comments about his investment strategy, the proceeds are included here in a blend of 27% equities, 36% fixed income, 20% cash, 12% alternative investments and 5% commodities.
His art is valued at $1 billion, according to a person familiar with it who asked not to be identified because the collection is private.
Ivanishvili created several closely held businesses during the 1990s and early 2000s, including banks Rossiysky Kredit and Impex, grain processor Stoylenskaya Niva, and the Doctor Stoletov pharmacy chain. He also invested in Moscow real estate and property development projects. He collected $2.6 billion selling some of these assets between 2003 and 2006. He sold the rest for $1.5 billion in 2012, in the run-up to Georgia's parliamentary elections, in which he became prime minister of the former Soviet republic.?
The billionaire has disclosed details about these asset sales to the Russian media, including the Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers, which are the basis for the net worth calculation.
Ownership stakes in the assets have never been disclosed. The analysis assumes the billionaire is the sole owner in all of them, except Impex bank, where minor partner Vitaly Malkin had a 33% stake, according to local media reports.
