Owner of Dublin’s Morrison Hotel sees fall in fortune but remains Russia’s richest woman

FIONA REDDAN

The owner of Dublin's Morrison Hotel saw her wealth decline by $100 million in 2013, according to a survey by Forbes Russia magazine.

The annual listing of Russia's 200 wealthiest people reveals that Elena Baturina dropped back eight places to 106, as her wealth reportedly fell to $1 billion.

Russia's richest woman, who grew up in a two-room flat in Moscow and made her fortune in construction during the 1990s, purchased the Morrision Hotel in 2012 for a reported €20 million from NAMA.

Top of the list is Alisher Usmanov (60), who has held onto his title of Russia's richest tycoon for the third year in a row, with wealth of $18.6 billion, after selling his stake in the social media website Facebook. Usmanov is a co-owner of Russia's largest iron ore miner, Metalloinvest, and the country's number-two mobile operator, MegaFon. He also owns stakes in the Russian internet group Mail.Ru and the British Premier League football club Arsenal.

In second place is Mikhail Fridman (49), the co-owner of Alfa Bank and telecoms operator Vimpelcom, who saw his wealth grow by $1.1 billion up to $17.6 billion. Alfa Bank has listed bonds on the Irish Stock Exchange.

The third richest, Viktor Vekselberg (57), who made his money in metals and energy, rose from fourth place with a worth of $17.2 billion, up $2.1 billion year-on-year. Former Minister of State Conor Lenihan has worked with Mr Vekselberg's Skolkovo Foundation, a Kremlin-backed technology hub being built in Moscow since 2011, and last year he took up a role as a senior adviser for his Renova Group investment company.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (47) saw his wealth fall by almost $1 billion, pushing him back one place to 14th, with a total fortune of $9.1 billion.

Oleg Deripaska (46), whose Rusal company owns the Aughinish Alumina plant on the Shannon estuary, Ireland's largest manufacturing site, saw his fortune decline by $2 billion to $6.5 billion, pushing him back into 20th place.

In total, the fortune of all 200 members fell to $481.4 billionin 2014. In 2013 it was $488.3 billion, and in 2012 $446.3 billion.

(Additional reporting Reuters)