#5 Alisher Usmanov
Bloomberg reports Alisher Usmanov, 58, this year became the top ranked Russian oligarch and 28th richest person on its billionaire list with a net worth of $17.2 billion.
The Uzbek-born Moscovite has been hard at work diversifying out of iron ore and steel producer Metalloinvest in which he holds the majority interest.
For good reason: only three years ago his stake in Metalloinvest, which he spun out of Gazprom with billionaire buddy Vasiliy Anisimov, was worth a mere $1.6 billion.
Through a share in DST Global (founded by fellow Russian billionaire Yuri Milner), Usmanov holds interests in Facebook – he paid $200 million for 1.96% back in 2009 which will hand him a handsome profit when the social network lists later this year.
He also holds investments in the blogging site Twitter and discount deals firm Groupon apart from media (influential daily and business magazine publisher Kommersant and cellular holdings in Russia.
Like no. 14 on the list Roman Abramovich who owns Chelsea FC, he is heavily invested in English soccer and real estate.
Despite protest from fans, Usmanov has built up a substantial stake in another London club called Arsenal, Chelsea’s sworn enemies.
Usmanov also owns Sutton Place, a Tudor manor house dating back to the 1500s, where oil baron Jean Paul Getty spent the last 17 years of his life.
#6 Alberto Bailleres Gonzalez
Forbes estimates Alberto Bailleres Gonzalez and his family‘s fortune at $16.5 billion, ranking him as the 38th richest person in the world.
He is Mexico’s third richest man behind Carlos Slim ($69 billion strong mobile phone king and richest man in the world) and retail and media mogul Ricardo Salinas Pliego whose pesos stack up to 17.4 billion USD.
Gonzalez’s wealth is largely thanks to his 69% shareholding in Industrias Penoles, which controls Fresnillo, the world’s largest primary silver mining company and a number of other silver and gold mines in Latin America.
The Gonzales family has added more than $10 billion to their stash since 2009 and it is not likely that they will stop accumulating cash – Penoles this month announced a 63% bump in 2011 profits to $1.5 billion.
Forbes says the 80-year old who sits on a number of boards including a Coca-Cola distributor is a fan of bullfighting.
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