Every now and then I see posts, tweets, comments, etc. mentioning that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a net worth over a billion dollars. For a comedian to be that rich, especially when his nation is gettign bombed into gravel, is suspicious to say the least. The implication, of course, is that there is financial chicanery goign on… likely American tax dollars being funneled directly into his pockets.
But as with so many Interesting Stories, this appears to be complete BS.
An article from Forbes:
President Zelensky Is Not A Billionaire. So How Much Is He Worth?
In short, he’s nowhere near a billionaire. Forbes estimates he’s worth $20 to $30 million, which is a surprisingly high amount. But there is a fair explanation for that:
His main asset: an estimated 25% stake in Kvartal 95, a group of companies that produce humorous shows, which he transferred to his partners after being elected president, though he’ll likely regain his shares after leaving office. Kvartal 95 produced and owns the Servant of the People series, a popular political comedy starring Zelensky as a Ukrainian high school teacher who is elected president. Netflix, which previously streamed the show between 2017 and 2021, snapped up the rights again in March. With estimated revenues of $30 million annually, Forbes Ukraine values Zelensky’s stake at $11 million.
He was an entertainer, and prior to the war had a goodly stake in an entertainment company. This makes sense.
If there is evidence that he’s substantially richer than that, in the “Russian Oligarch” category, I’m sure the world would be interested to see it. But “evidence” has to be more than the say-so of some Russian talking head.
One response to “Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Net Worth”
(Unpopular opinion warning)
Honestly, who cares?
Ukraine is not a “vital strategic interest” to anybody except the Ukrainians themselves and arguably the Russians, and then only because it’s between them and the people who seem to invade them every century or so.
Likewise, Bosnia was nobody’s vital strategic interest either, but as Bismarck warned in 1898 that if there was ever another major war in Europe, it would come out of “some damned silly thing in the Balkans,” and 1914 fulfilled his prophecy to the letter.
Previously, NATO was rational enough to not get drawn in by Ukraine. The Russians have always considered Ukraine within their sphere of influence, if not actually part of Russia itself, after all, Kiev was the original capital of the Russian state. And this is the first time Ukraine has been independent of Russia for any appreciable period in the past three and a half centuries. Arguably, the Russians probably have a better claim to Ukraine than the Ukrainians do. Frankly, so do the Lithuanians and Poles.
Moreover, post-Soviet governments in Kiev have been horrendously corrupt and incompetent, the country is even poorer than it was in Soviet times and much of the population in the eastern part of Ukraine considers itself Russian and is subject “de-russification” at gun point by Kiev, who is emulating the Imperial Russian and Soviet “russification” campaigns of the past with enthusiasm. Economically, eastern Ukraine is an industrial museum whose products are only salable in Russia. What eastern Ukrainians fear for is not only oppression from Kiev, but the loss of their livelihood.
As for NATO, it accomplished its mission in 1991. I know I was stationed in West Germany at the time, and since then, seems to serve only as a mechanism for Europe to con the United States into funding their defense. Russia is demonstrably unable to project power and Europe could easily defend themselves without US aide, so it is hard to see it as anything other than a crime against the US taxpayer.
The present war was provoked by the European Union and NATO. Firstly, for demanding that Ukraine choose between closer trade and travel ties with the EU and full membership in Russia’s “Eurasian Union.” And by insisting on expanding NATO borders eastward. It is almost like they were trying to get Russia to attack in the hopes of taking them down a peg or three. Russian’s paranoia about Western encroachment is well known, yet it was decided to push eastward. Ukraine could have easily kept a foot in each camp, but neither Brussels nor Moscow wanted to settle for half the pie.
This whole thing was predictable and preventable yet here we are in a situation that might provoke a nuclear war over something no one in their right mind, except those directly involved, should care about. We have also driven Russia with all its resources fully into the Chinese camp. But not doing that would mean missing all the fun to be had, making things hard on Moscow. This situation is untenable and not worth the lives, money and risk. Stop pouring gas on the fire and cut off Ukraine and let them sink or swim on their own. The only thing we should be doing is eating popcorn.