Yevgeny Prigozhin is a highly mysterious individual known worldwide. Examining his financial situation reveals a tale of wealth that has generated both curiosity and controversy. As a prominent Russian businessman and entrepreneur, Prigozhin’s net worth showcases the wide range of businesses he has been involved in, including catering, media, and even military operations.
With connections to the Russian government, Prigozhin’s global recognition is undeniable. His net worth sheds light on the complex interconnection of business, politics, and power on a worldwide scale.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin Net Worth
Yevgeny Prigozhin had a business empire valued at around $1 billion, but it wasn’t just built on typical businesses. Alongside his business interests, he owned expensive things like a large yacht and a luxurious private plane. He reportedly earned money from the natural resources of other countries and supported governments that weren’t very stable.
The Wagner Group, as discovered by Financial Times, provided security services to several African and Middle Eastern countries that were fragile or affected by war.
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, companies associated with Prigozhin supposedly made about $250 million from the natural resources of those countries over four years.
It’s believed that the Wagner Group receives payment directly from corrupt governments and also takes valuable resources like diamonds, gold, oil, and gas from the countries where they operate.
Yevgeny Prigozhin Biography
Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, a Russian wealthy and influential figure, who led the Wagner private military group, lived from June 1, 1961, to August 23, 2023. Until June 2023, he held a position of high trust with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin managed restaurants and catering businesses that served the Kremlin, earning him the nickname “Putin’s chef.” As per a 2022 investigation, Prigozhin, who had been in a Soviet prison in the past, was in charge of a network of major businesses that were closely connected with Russia’s Defense Ministry and its intelligence branch, known as the GRU.
According to reports, Prigozhin set up the Wagner Group in 2014 to support pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine. This group had backing from Russia in countries like Syria and Africa, and the Russian government funded it. This same government played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Prigozhin admitted in November 2022 that his companies had interfered in American elections. In February 2023, he openly stated that he was the founder and long-serving manager of the Internet Research Agency, a Russian company accused of spreading fake information and propaganda online.
Yevgeny Prigozhin Cause Of Death
The emergency ministry of Russia reports that Prigozhin passed away in a plane accident on August 23, 2023. When the jet crashed, it was travelling from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, killing all 10 people on board.
According to TASS, a state-run media outlet in Russia, Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on the flight. The press secretary for Prigozhin declined to confirm that he was on the aircraft.
However, a Telegram account connected to Wagner claimed the plane was downed over Tver Oblast by Russian air defences. This claim was disputed because there were no discernible missile tracks in the video that was made public.
In numerous locations, impromptu tributes for Prigozhin and Utkin were created using candles, flowers, Wagner flags, and sledgehammers—a nod to the execution technique Wagner employed for deserters. In front of a memorial, videos of Wagner troops sobbing went viral.
Yevgeny Prigozhin Personal Life
Prigozhin was wed to businesswoman and chemist Lyubov Valentinovna Prigozhina. In Saint Petersburg, she is the owner of a chain of quaint shops known as the Chocolate Museum. She opened the Crystal Spa & Lounge in 2012; it is a day spa on Zhukovsky Street in Saint Petersburg and earned third place for the Perfect Urban Day Spa in 2013.
She is the proprietor of a spa in the Leningrad region as well as the Crystal Spa & Residence, a boutique hotel that received the Perfect Spa Project award in 2013. In Lakhta Park, Sestroretsk, Kurortny District, Saint Petersburg, she is the owner of the New Technologies SPA LLC, which is situated at plot 1 of Granichnaya Street. She also owns Agat, a company in the Concord group.
Yevgeny Prigozhin Career
Prigozhin started selling hot dogs at the Apraksin Dvor outdoor market in Leningrad with his mother and stepfather after being released from jail in 1990.
According to a New York Times interview with him, “the rubles were piling up faster than his mother could count them” soon. Prigozhin adopted the entrepreneurial mindset of the moment after the Soviet Union fell apart and started or joined numerous new firms.
Prigozhin was actively involved in the grocery store industry from 1991 until 1997. In contrast, the first grocery shop chain in Saint Petersburg created by his former classmate Boris Spektor, hired him as manager and a 15% shareholder.
At about the same time, Prigozhin entered the gambling industry. Prigozhin was appointed CEO of Spectrum CJSC, which established the first casinos in Saint Petersburg, by Spektor and Igor Gorbenko
Together, these three went on to start numerous additional enterprises throughout the 1990s in a variety of sectors, including construction, market research, and international trade.
Given that Putin had been head of the board of supervisors for casinos and gambling since 1991, Novaya Gazeta speculates that this was maybe the first time Prigozhin and Putin had interacted.
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FAQs
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin is a Russian businessman and politician who is known for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has been accused of being involved in a variety of illegal activities, including money laundering, embezzlement, and election interference.
How did Yevgeny Prigozhin make his money?
Yevgeny Prigozhin made his money through the catering business, government contracts, and controversial businesses. He is one of the richest men in Russia and is considered to be one of Putin’s closest allies.
