Filenews 22 April 2022
By Matt Durot
A popular online meme currently circulating claims without evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has a fortune worth $1.4 billion. dollars – "greater than Will Smith's, Chris Rock and Dave Chappell cumulatively". The insinuation is clear. In order for the former comedian Zelensky to have amassed such property, corruption must smoulder. And after this claim was parroted by a large number of anonymous Twitter users, a number of "blue dots" began to enter the action.
Lee Stranahan, an American radio Sputnik presenter who appears in Oliver Stone's documentary "Revealing Ukraine," tweeted to his nearly 100,000 followers: "Why is Zelensky a billionaire?"
Forbes' answer: He is not. The Russian invasion has hit Ukraine's billionaires hard. According to Forbes' 36th annual World's Billionaires list, there are only seven left in the country, and Zelenskiy is not one of them (nor is former chocolate president and tycoon Petro Poroshenko, who dropped to the rankings this year).
But unlike his predecessor, Zelensky was never a billionaire. At the moment his fortune amounts to about 20 million dollars at most, according to the report of Forbes Ukraine.
His main asset: An estimated 25% stake in Kvartal 95, a group of humorous show production companies, which he transferred to associates after his election as president, though he will likely regain the shares when he leaves power. Kvartal 95 produced and holds the rights to the series "Servant of the People", a popular political comedy starring Zelensky in the role of a Ukrainian high school teacher elected president. Netflix, which had the show on its platform from 2017 to 2021, regained the rights in March. With an estimated revenue of $30 million per year, Forbes Ukraine estimates the value of Zelensky's share at $11 million.
Although he has an apartment in one of the most expensive apartment buildings of Ukraine in the center of Kiev, it is relatively modest by Western standards. Forbes estimates that Zelensky's entire real estate portfolio is worth $4 million, and includes two more fully owned apartments, two in which he co-owns, a commercial property and five parking spaces.
Internet "researchers", or rather Russian propagandists, have charged Zelensky with the ownership of up to five luxury yachts and three private jets, along with $60 million worth of shares in companies such as Saudi Aramco, Meta and Tesla.
Forbes found no evidence of such a fleet, and if Zelensky owns shares in these companies, it's hard to believe that they will be worth somewhere near $60 million. We estimate that he and his wife Olena Zelenska have a joint bank account containing about $2 million in cash and government bonds. Their remaining assets, which are two cars and some jewelry, do not exceed 1 million dollars.
Zelensky isn't going to be on Forbes' list of billionaires anytime soon. But he has much more important things to worry about.
Source: Forbes
