Propaganda is an important tool in times of war and rumors have been spreading on the web about the ostensible wealth of Ukraine's president. «Forbes» took a closer look.
The internet is currently rife with gossip that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is a billionaire, with some indicating he may have as much as $1.4 billion in assets – without providing any kind of evidence at all. Even Lee Stranahan, the American writer who works for Sputnik, a news agency controlled by the Russian government, twittered to his almost 84,000 followers: «Why is Zelenskyy (SIC) a billionaire?»
The tone is clear. The only way the former comedian and actor can be that rich is by corruption.
Comedy Production Company
A team of journalists from «Forbes» decided to take a closer look at his income and wealth. According to them, he is not even close to making the magazine's ranking of the world's top billionaires and he never was. In complete contrast to his predecessor Petro Poroshenko.
According to Forbes Ukraine, his wealth tops up at about $20 million at best. Most of his wealth is tied up in a 25 percent share of Kvartal 95, which is a group of companies that produces comedy programming.
Servant of the People
It is where his rights to the television series «Servant of the People» are held and which can be seen on Netflix, according to Deadline Hollywood, a web-based source of breaking news on the entertainment industry. In the series, Zelensky plays a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president after he complained about corruption.
Kvartal-95's expected intake from the series is around $30 million, and Zelensky's share of that is seen at around $11 million.
Two Cars and Some Jewelry
He also owns real estate. He has an apartment in one of the most expensive buildings in the center of Kyiv but its value is relatively modest, at least by western standards. He also has another two apartments under his complete ownership, as well as shares in other properties, the American magazine said. The total worth of his real estate portfolio is about $4 million.
The journalists also assume that Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska share a bank account with about $2 million in cash and government bonds. Their remaining wealth comprises two cars and some jewelry and is estimated at not much more than $1 million.
Other Problems
The rumors on the web say he owns luxury yachts, private jets, and $60 million dollars in shares belonging to Saudi Aramco, Meta, and Tesla, but Forbes did not find any evidence of that.
Zelensky won't be making it to the Forbes list anytime soon. He is probably also confronted with other problems and issues right now.
Seven Ukrainian Billionaires
The Russian invasion has hit Ukrainian billionaires hard. According to the annual Forbes billionaire ranking, only seven are now left, with even the former president and chocolate magnate Poroshenko falling off the list.
