• Sodium_nitride@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 days ago

        The $200 billion figure was estimated by financier Bill Browder who, in a testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, said that Putin amassed most of his wealth after a Moscow court jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2003 for fraud and tax evasion:

        “After Khodorkovsky’s conviction, the other oligarchs went to Putin and asked him what they needed to do to avoid sitting in the same cage as Khodorkovsky. From what followed, it appeared that Putin’s answer was, “50%” He wasn’t saying 50% for the Russian government or the presidential administration of Russia, but 50% for Vladimir Putin personally.”

        Following the dead link to its archive, the latest snapshot has nothing about this “50% blackmail” thing. And if you think about it, this whole story makes literally no sense.

        Also, this story is literally the only explanation given in your source of Putin owning $200 billion.

      • bbnh69420 [she/her, they/them]@hexbear.net
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        3 days ago

        As someone who isn’t the richest man in the world, I can’t read past the headline, but I’m curious if the “experts” have applied this methodology to American leaders and oligarchs

        • takeda@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          But what are you arguing now? “Ok he is actually really rich, but now as rich as Elon”?

          Well a lot of Musk’s wealth is based on the stock prices which can go up and down and it’s inflated. Putin’s wealth is more static and grounded in actual prices without market speculations.