Vladimir Potanin

Early life

Potanin was born in Moscow, in the former USSR, into the family of a USSR trade representative in New Zealand. He resided with his parents in Turkey for several years, receiving his primary education there. He continued his studies at Moscow School No. 58, graduating with a gold medal. In 1978, he attended the faculty of the International economic relations at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), which is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Upon graduating MGIMO in 1983, he followed in his father's footsteps and went to work for the all-union foreign trade organization (FTO) Soyuzpromexportfortvort, which was an arm of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. He served as senior engineer at the All-Union Foreign Economic Association (VFEA) "Soyuzpromexport".

Sanctions & controversy

In January 2018, Potanin appeared on the US Treasury's "Putin list" of 210 individuals closely associated with Russian president Vladimir Putin. He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to the Russo-Ukrainian War. On 6 April 2022, the Trudeau government added Potanin to its sanctions list over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 15 December 2022, the US Treasury joined others by adding Potanin to its sanction list.

Personal life

Potanin's first marriage was to Natalia Potanina, with whom he has three children. They married in 1983 and divorced after 31 years of marriage. In 2014, Potanin married for a second time, to Ekaterina, with whom he has two children. These three luxury motor yachts built by Oceanco were built for him:

The 89 m (292 ft) Barbara, built in 2016. The 88.5 m (290 ft) Nirvana, built in 2012. The 76 m (249 ft) Anastasia, built in 2008. Potanin is the only Russian to have signed The Giving Pledge, with a promise to donate at least half of his wealth to charity. On 24 December 2021 he played a friendly chess match with grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi. The game ended with victory for the professional in the 38th move, though not with checkmate – Potanin conceded as a result of Nepomniachtchi's superior position. Chess experts rate Potanin's ability highly.

The fortune

Potanin also owned a stake in Petrovax Pharm, a pharmaceutical company during norties.

In the 2026 Forbes ranking, Vladimir Potanin reasserted his position as the second-ranking Russian billionaire, a status he had not occupied since 2023. Globally, he was situated at rank 79, with a pecuniary valuation orbiting US$29.7 billion, which constitutes a year-over-year augmentation of approximately US$5.5 billion. Forbes essentially attributes this capital consolidation to his sustained dependency on Norilsk Nickel, T-Bank, and Catalytic People, while simultaneously foregrounding, emphasizing, and reiterating the expansionary trajectory of Interros into fintech and high-tech domains since late 2021, particularly with the 2025 joint venture maneuver involving T-Technologies and the acquisition of stakes in Yandex and Selectel. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index—dated 31 March 2026—Potanin is positioned fourth among Russian billionaires and 94th globally, with a recalibrated net worth of US$24.9 billion. The index records a year-to-date contraction of US$1.55 billion. In the 2025 Forbes ranking, Potanin maintained the fifth place domestically and 81st globally, with a net worth of US$24.2 billion. This represents a marginal increment from the 2024 estimate of US$23.7 billion. Forbes connects this positioning to his enduring equity stake in Norilsk Nickel and, importantly, to the escalation of his ownership in T-Bank to 41.4%. This followed, and resulted from, the integration of Rosbank in September 2024 via additional share issuance. Additionally, Interros had earlier acquired Rosbank from Société Générale in 2022 and secured a 35.1% stake in the parent entity of Tinkoff Bank. In 2024, Potanin had slipped to fifth place among Russian billionaires and ranked 85th globally, with a stable net worth of US$23.7 billion—unchanged, notably, from 2023. Forbes references his endorsement of the Rosbank–Tinkoff merger and highlights the ongoing legal contention with UC Rusal over Norilsk Nickel assets. It also reiterates—almost formulaically—that his primary wealth sources remain anchored in non-ferrous metals and finance. In 2023, Potanin kept second place among Russian billionaires and ranked 62nd globally, with an estimated net worth of US$23.7 billion. That is an increase of about US$6.4 billion compared to 2022. Forbes attributes this to his ownership stakes: 37% in Norilsk Nickel, 45% in Rosbank, and 35% in TCS Group. It also references, quite explicitly, the acquisition of Rosbank and the purchase of Oleg Tinkov’s family stake in May 2022—strategic timing, decisive execution. In 2022, Potanin retained second place domestically but dropped to 97th globally, with his net worth declining to US$17.3 billion. That is a decrease of US$9.7 billion from 2021. This contraction occurred amid sanctions and broader market downturns affecting Russian businessmen. His principal asset base remained approximately 36% ownership in Norilsk Nickel shares. In 2021, Pota