On formal statements, Putin’s net worth seems to be very modest.
But is the humble figure real for Russia’s President? It would seem Vladimir Putin’s net worth is a mystery no one knows how to unravel.
The real question on everyone’s mind is simple: How much is Vladimir Putin’s net worth?
This stems from curiosity as well as political roots. The recent confusion on Joe Biden’s decision to impose sanctions on Russia but not Putin himself raised more doubts.
It is no doubt that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is considered to be one of the leaders in the world who is of considerable wealth.
Although this claim is contradicted around every corner with no evidence to support it, we take a look and snoop around to uncover more.
Official Stance on the Matter
Amid these claims and other ponderings, the official stance on the matter is definite: Vladimir Putin earns $140,000 per annum as his salary.
Though Putin tends to keep his personal life private. Very less is known about Putin’s daughter and Putin’s wife.
Putin is also rumored to be involved in a love relationship with Olympian Russian Gymnast Alina Kabaeva.
Along with this income other assets declared under his name are a trailer, three cars in total: two cars of the Soviet era and one truck (off-road), and an apartment which is 800 square feet in St. Petersburg.
As is expected, many people have challenged this claim and have investigated themselves regarding this matter. Many people pin Putin as one of the wealthiest men in the world.
His assets according to others may equal $200 billion, if not more.
Lack of Paper Trail
Officials deny these figures but there are reasons why people find it hard to believe the Kremlin’s statement regarding Putin’s net worth. Some of the reasons are listed below, in the article.
It should be added that the lack of almost no paper trail for the President’s assets does not help further in the matter.
There is no trail that leads to his properties, which are claimed to have been curtained by many financial schemes complex in nature and organized by his many trusted personnel.
According to the leaked Panama Papers, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported that Putin’s net worth is attributed to his close family and friends with no real ties linking him to them.
Such assets include a Black Sea palace which Putin uses for his personal time and space and a glorious yacht which is pinned to be $100 million.
Putin’s Collection of Luxury Watches
In almost all of his photographs, Vladimir Putin is seen to be wearing luxurious wristwatches.
Keen-eyed personnel has reported that these high-end watches are worth more than multiple times Putin’s reported annual income, much less his monthly.
One such keen-eyed hawk stated that Putin has been seen wearing a $60,000 worth watch bearing the tag of Patek Philippe’s Perpetual Calendar.
Other sources have reported Putin owning a $500,000 hand watches of A. Lange & Sohne Touboraph.
There have been many other designs and watches as well.
The Black Sea Mansion
This reported mansion is simply believed to be worth $1.4 billion. Beautiful in architecture overlooking the Black Sea, this property is the personal abode of Putin.
It encompasses Greek entity statues, a marble swimming pool, exclusive guest houses, spas, parlor, dressing rooms, casino, a nightclub, a barroom with expensive wines and other drinks complete with a tasting room, and much much more.
Decorated with Italian branded interior furniture such as sofas and bathroom fixtures and tables of which quoted amounts just blow anyone’s mind, the mansion itself was designed by Lanfranco Cirillo – an Italian architect – and cost a huge amount.
To maintain this property, an estimated staff of 40 is believed to be on duty with $2 million per annum maintenance expenses.
Vladimir Putin’s Response to his Wealth
To claims such as the above and many more, Vladimir Putin simply has denied all of the allegations. When confronted, he responded by giving the following statement, and accepting that he was indeed rich, but in a different context:
Although these types of statements have been scorned by analysts and global society, this is what has been the closest response given by Vladimir Putin of his ‘greatest wealth’.
Other Assets Linked to Vladimir Putin’s Net Worth
Apart from the above-quoted mansion, collection of luxurious and elite watch collection, and other assets revealed through Panama papers, there are also other worthy collectibles linked to the Russian President’s name.
There are almost 19 to 20 houses along with 700 cars believed to be under Putin’s name. Perhaps the most eye-popping of all his collectibles could be his $716 million planes The Flying Kremlin.
This plane has its toilet made of gold, confirming tastes of Putin’s taste for grand architecture.
He also has around 58 helicopters and aircraft along with the above-stated megayacht which is also said to be bearing a tag of $100 million. This yacht is believed to be designed by the Russian navy.
The Rising Interest in Vladimir Putin’s Net Worth
The recent invasion of Russia into Ukraine has been the prime reason for the public’s growing interest in the President’s income statement.
Recently imposed sanctions on Russia by America’s President Joe Biden but not Putin seemed to put more fuel to the fire.
It is also believed that agencies of the EU and the US must be tracking Putin’s assets and wealth throughout the years. Their delay and hesitancy regarding putting sanctions and freezing Putin’s assets are raising concerns.
Common sense says that even putting Putin’s assets on freeze mode would not force him to stop his recent invasion. But people say this is important to ‘punish’ him.
Leaders such as Joe Biden – US President – are believed to be not taking action due to no probable evidence linking these assets to the Russian President.
