Viktor Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik have nearly identical business interests -- each owns a quarter of oil company TNK-BP and each holds one half of aluminum giant SUAL.
The difference between the two men is that Vekselberg is widely recognized as an "oligarch" -- in February he bought the legendary Faberge eggs for close to $100 million -- while Blavatnik has managed to stay out of the limelight.
In Forbes magazine's March listing of 25 Russian billionaires, Vekselberg ranks as the country's ninth richest man, while Blavatnik didn't even make the list because he has a U.S. passport.
By design or by chance, scores of Russia's super-rich have avoided the oligarch label. Quietly profiting from the country's economic boom, a second tier of business leaders has arisen in the shadows.
Now there are indications that the authorities could try to bring them to heel.
Finans magazine recently published a nine-page list of Russians worth over $35 million. It included many of the usual suspects -- Yukos' Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Sibneft's Roman Abramovich, Basic Element's Oleg Deripaska and Alfa Group's Mikhail Fridman.
Yet unlike other ratings before it, Finans listed 17 industrialists worth between $500 million and $1 billion. In total, the magazine ranked 100 Russians holding more than $100 million.
"The title of oligarch is usually reserved for those who have a fortune of more than $1 billion," said Oleg Anisimov, the editor of Finans.
But net worth isn't the only thing that makes an oligarch. Media coverage also plays a significant role.
"Few people knew who Vladimir Prokhorov was until he became managing chairman of Norilsk Nickel -- even though he has always been an equal partner to Vladimir Potanin," said Anisimov.
Both men are worth nearly $4.7 billion according to Finans. But while Potanin is well known as one of the architects of voucher privatization and a former deputy prime minister, Anisimov said, Prokhorov made his fortune behind the scenes.
The same can be said of Vladimir Lisin, "an unknown figure who was considered to be a big businessman, but not an oligarch," as Anisimov put it. According to Finans, his 80 percent stake in Novolipetsky steelmaker puts him close to the top of the pack with $4.3 billion.
More players benefited from controversial privatizations than the public realizes, largely because most of Russia's richest would prefer to keep it that way.
"Some don't want to be public; others don't have a glamorous life ... and some are not active lobbyists," said Christof R?hl, chief strategist of the World Bank's Moscow office.
In a World Bank report, published earlier this month, 37 people were listed as having significant stakes in the country's 23 largest firms by number of employees, which in total account for 30 percent of gross domestic product.
However, only 17 people on the World Bank list were mentioned in the Forbes ranking, meaning more than half of major shareholders in Russian companies are relative strangers to the outside world.
"There were two ways you could become rich in Russia," said Anisimov. One way was by capitalizing on voucher auctions in the mid-1990s. "A second group of people -- who have between $50 million and $200 million -- are those who built their fortunes from the ground up," Anisimov said.
Many more wealthy businessmen could be coming out of the woodwork in the near future.
"When we say oligarch, we mean the public domain. Other businesses, which don't need to open their books, are the next target to be brought under government control," said Chris Weafer, head of research at Alfa Bank.
"The government has announced some very ambitious economic goals and it needs to know who influences growth in the economy to make sure these people are going to be cooperative."
A leaked report, compiled by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry last year, indicated the government may soon try to bring under its control some 45 family groups and legal entities that control about 85 percent of the economy, Weafer said. "These are names which are not widely known."
"There are people in the shadows -- especially in the booming real estate and gambling businesses -- who keep their incomes to themselves," said Anisimov.
A number of these very rich, but not very famous Russians, could soon attract new attention.
Yelena Baturina, whose husband is Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, is possibly the country's richest woman. Baturina, who heads real estate developer Inteko, is worth $350 million according to Finans.
Alisher Usmanov, president of Gazprom's investment arm Gazprominvestholding, who is reportedly worth $1.5 billion, made neither the Forbes ranking nor the World Bank list.
Usmanov is typical of businessmen whose fortunes are hard to trace -- his holdings are scattered among a number of companies rather than consolidated in vertically integrated industrial behemoths.
LUKoil, on the other hand, has such an opaque structure that ownership of the company's stakes do not necessarily correspond to a shareholder's wealth.
LUKoil's president Vagit Alekperov is reported to own less than 11 percent of the firm, or $2.7 billion according to Forbes. But the money at his disposal is believed to far exceed the face value of his stake.
Based on Finans' numbers, the same could be said about LUKoil executives Nikolai Tsvetkov, estimated to be worth nearly $1.7 billion, vice president Leonid Fedun, $1 billion, and first vice president Ravil Maganov, $100 million. Federation Council member Ralif Safin holds a $215 million stake.
Privatizations of metallurgy companies have also given rise to a number of super-rich, but relatively obscure metals barons, such as Vladimir Rashnikov, general director of Magnitogorsk Metallurgy, who Finans -- but not Forbes -- estimated to be worth $1.5 billion.
According to Finans, Igor Zyuzin, Mechel group's core shareholder, just missed the $1 billion oligarch cut-off, as did Iskander Makhmudov, chairman of the board of the UGMK metals miner.
Most well-known super-rich Russians made their fortunes peddling hydrocarbons and metal -- 23 out of 25 billionaires on the Forbes list.
But the renown of representatives of other industries is in inverse proportion to their bank accounts.
Chairman of the board of directors of Alfa Eko, Alexei Kuzmichyov, Alfa Group's telecoms branch is worth $2.5 billion, according to Finans.
The only Russian to make a fortune in the domestic automobile industry -- over $500 million -- is Vladimir Kadannikov, chairman of the board at AvtoVAZ, the producer of Lada cars.
Kadannikov has a financial peer in SPI Group chief Yury Shefler, producer of the other liquid gold, vodka.
The difference between the two men is that Vekselberg is widely recognized as an "oligarch" -- in February he bought the legendary Faberge eggs for close to $100 million -- while Blavatnik has managed to stay out of the limelight.
In Forbes magazine's March listing of 25 Russian billionaires, Vekselberg ranks as the country's ninth richest man, while Blavatnik didn't even make the list because he has a U.S. passport.
By design or by chance, scores of Russia's super-rich have avoided the oligarch label. Quietly profiting from the country's economic boom, a second tier of business leaders has arisen in the shadows.
Now there are indications that the authorities could try to bring them to heel.
Finans magazine recently published a nine-page list of Russians worth over $35 million. It included many of the usual suspects -- Yukos' Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Sibneft's Roman Abramovich, Basic Element's Oleg Deripaska and Alfa Group's Mikhail Fridman.
Yet unlike other ratings before it, Finans listed 17 industrialists worth between $500 million and $1 billion. In total, the magazine ranked 100 Russians holding more than $100 million.
"The title of oligarch is usually reserved for those who have a fortune of more than $1 billion," said Oleg Anisimov, the editor of Finans.
But net worth isn't the only thing that makes an oligarch. Media coverage also plays a significant role.
"Few people knew who Vladimir Prokhorov was until he became managing chairman of Norilsk Nickel -- even though he has always been an equal partner to Vladimir Potanin," said Anisimov.
Both men are worth nearly $4.7 billion according to Finans. But while Potanin is well known as one of the architects of voucher privatization and a former deputy prime minister, Anisimov said, Prokhorov made his fortune behind the scenes.
The same can be said of Vladimir Lisin, "an unknown figure who was considered to be a big businessman, but not an oligarch," as Anisimov put it. According to Finans, his 80 percent stake in Novolipetsky steelmaker puts him close to the top of the pack with $4.3 billion.
More players benefited from controversial privatizations than the public realizes, largely because most of Russia's richest would prefer to keep it that way.
"Some don't want to be public; others don't have a glamorous life ... and some are not active lobbyists," said Christof R?hl, chief strategist of the World Bank's Moscow office.
In a World Bank report, published earlier this month, 37 people were listed as having significant stakes in the country's 23 largest firms by number of employees, which in total account for 30 percent of gross domestic product.
However, only 17 people on the World Bank list were mentioned in the Forbes ranking, meaning more than half of major shareholders in Russian companies are relative strangers to the outside world.
"There were two ways you could become rich in Russia," said Anisimov. One way was by capitalizing on voucher auctions in the mid-1990s. "A second group of people -- who have between $50 million and $200 million -- are those who built their fortunes from the ground up," Anisimov said.
Many more wealthy businessmen could be coming out of the woodwork in the near future.
"When we say oligarch, we mean the public domain. Other businesses, which don't need to open their books, are the next target to be brought under government control," said Chris Weafer, head of research at Alfa Bank.
"The government has announced some very ambitious economic goals and it needs to know who influences growth in the economy to make sure these people are going to be cooperative."
A leaked report, compiled by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry last year, indicated the government may soon try to bring under its control some 45 family groups and legal entities that control about 85 percent of the economy, Weafer said. "These are names which are not widely known."
"There are people in the shadows -- especially in the booming real estate and gambling businesses -- who keep their incomes to themselves," said Anisimov.
A number of these very rich, but not very famous Russians, could soon attract new attention.
Yelena Baturina, whose husband is Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, is possibly the country's richest woman. Baturina, who heads real estate developer Inteko, is worth $350 million according to Finans.
Alisher Usmanov, president of Gazprom's investment arm Gazprominvestholding, who is reportedly worth $1.5 billion, made neither the Forbes ranking nor the World Bank list.
Usmanov is typical of businessmen whose fortunes are hard to trace -- his holdings are scattered among a number of companies rather than consolidated in vertically integrated industrial behemoths.
LUKoil, on the other hand, has such an opaque structure that ownership of the company's stakes do not necessarily correspond to a shareholder's wealth.
LUKoil's president Vagit Alekperov is reported to own less than 11 percent of the firm, or $2.7 billion according to Forbes. But the money at his disposal is believed to far exceed the face value of his stake.
Based on Finans' numbers, the same could be said about LUKoil executives Nikolai Tsvetkov, estimated to be worth nearly $1.7 billion, vice president Leonid Fedun, $1 billion, and first vice president Ravil Maganov, $100 million. Federation Council member Ralif Safin holds a $215 million stake.
Privatizations of metallurgy companies have also given rise to a number of super-rich, but relatively obscure metals barons, such as Vladimir Rashnikov, general director of Magnitogorsk Metallurgy, who Finans -- but not Forbes -- estimated to be worth $1.5 billion.
According to Finans, Igor Zyuzin, Mechel group's core shareholder, just missed the $1 billion oligarch cut-off, as did Iskander Makhmudov, chairman of the board of the UGMK metals miner.
Most well-known super-rich Russians made their fortunes peddling hydrocarbons and metal -- 23 out of 25 billionaires on the Forbes list.
But the renown of representatives of other industries is in inverse proportion to their bank accounts.
Chairman of the board of directors of Alfa Eko, Alexei Kuzmichyov, Alfa Group's telecoms branch is worth $2.5 billion, according to Finans.
The only Russian to make a fortune in the domestic automobile industry -- over $500 million -- is Vladimir Kadannikov, chairman of the board at AvtoVAZ, the producer of Lada cars.
Kadannikov has a financial peer in SPI Group chief Yury Shefler, producer of the other liquid gold, vodka.
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