Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has been the country's president since 2012, having previously held the position from 1999 to 2008. From 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012, he served as Prime Minister. He is estimated to be worth $200 billion.

Putin was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and earned his bachelor's degree in law from Leningrad State University in 1975. Putin spent 16 years in the KGB as a foreign intelligence officer, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before resigning in 1991 to seek a political career in Saint Petersburg. In 1996, he relocated to Moscow to join President Boris Yeltsin's government.

Before being appointed Prime Minister in August 1999, he served as Head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Member of the Security Council for a short time. Following Yeltsin's resignation, Putin took over as acting president and was elected outright to his first term as president less than four months later.

The Russian economy expanded for eight years in a row during his first term as president, with GDP growing by 72% in buying power, real incomes increasing by a factor of 2.5, real wages more than tripling, unemployment and poverty more than halving, and Russians' self-assessed life satisfaction rising dramatically. A fivefold increase in the price of oil and gas, which accounts for the majority of Russian exports, as well as recovery from the post-Communist depression and financial crises, an increase in foreign investment, and prudent economic and fiscal policies, contributed to the country's growth.

He undertook large-scale military and police reforms while working under Dmitry Medvedev from 2008 to 2012. Putin campaigned for a third term as president in 2012 and won nearly 64% of the vote. Falling oil prices, combined with international sanctions imposed in early 2014 in response to Russia's invasion of Crimea and the War in Donbass, caused the Russian economy to contract by 3.7 percent in 2015. However, the Russian economy rebounded in 2016, with 0.3% GDP growth, and the recession was officially over.  Pipelines have been built, the satellite navigation system GLONASS has been restored, and infrastructure for international events such as the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi has been built under Putin's watch. In the 2018 election, Putin won 76% of the vote and was re-elected for a six-year term that will end in 2024.

Putin's annual Presidential pay is $187,000, according to government records (5.8 million rubles). He received 3.6 million rubles ($113,000) in 2012, according to his tax return. Putin also appears to have a small net worth of $180,000 in a savings account, a few Russian-made vehicles, and a 16,000 square foot plot of land in the Moscow suburbs. In total, they claimed their net worth totaled less than $500,000. He has an art collection valued at $2 billion.

Many Russian insiders and analysts agree that Putin has used his power to do more than just change the lives of ordinary Russians during his reign. Despite the fact that several historically state-owned companies have been privatized, Putin is accused of using his power to accumulate significant secret ownership stakes in many multibillion-dollar commodity firms. Putin's most outspoken opponents say that he has used his influence to gain a 4.5% stake in natural gas producer Gazprom, a 37% stake in oil firm Surgutneftegas, and a 50% stake in Swiss oil trader Gunvor. Gazprom generates more than $150 billion in annual sales, Guvnor $80 billion, and Surgutneftegas $20 billion. Using their most recent market capitalizations, Putin's combined ownership stakes would give him a personal net worth of $200 billion.

The Russian president, who is known for his secrecy, keeps his net worth hidden as well. Bill Browder, the former CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and Putin's foe, placed Putin's net worth at $200 billion.“I estimate that [Putin] has accumulated $200 billion of ill-gotten gains,” Browder told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. Putin has remained tight-lipped about the amount. "This information has no substance," a representative from the Russian Federation's President's Press and Information Office said when faced with links to the stories. "Putin considers everything that belongs to the Russian Federation's territories to be his," exiled Russian banker Sergei Pugachev told the Guardian (Pugachev was once known as "Putin's banker"). According to him, "Any effort to find out [Putin's net worth] would fail. Unless he leaves power, he is the wealthiest person on the planet."

On July 28, 1983, Putin married Lyudmila Shkrebneva. From 1985 to 1990, they lived in East Germany, where their daughter Yekaterina Putina was born. Mariya Putina, their second daughter, was born in Leningrad. In June 2013, they announced their divorce, and in April 2014, they confirmed it had been finalized. For a politician, his public image is somewhat special, primarily identified by his "macho" exotic image. On many occasions, he has been photographed shirtless or involved in dangerous and extreme sports.

SOURCES : Forbes, Celebrity Net worth, Town and Country, Fox Business, Business Insider

This article was updated on March 12, 2021 by Vanessa Shumbanhete

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