Vadim tyrants are the richest people in the world. big twenty

Cortazar has a story made up of newspaper clippings. Private journalistic archives are full of materials for such stories. Three years ago, the Versiya weekly published an article that was announced on the front page of the newspaper: “Masons in uniform. Secret organization of intelligence officers. The author of the journalistic investigation, Vadim Samodurov, talked about all sorts of "gray" special services and organizations that were created in our country by "siloviki". The material made a lot of noise. Strange and incomprehensible processes of centralization of power in the hands of these very security forces took place in the country. The names of some of those who now occupy high and responsible positions were first named in the material that I cut out and put in my journalistic archive. A year later, from another newspaper, I cut out a note that a magazine of Russian special services was being created. The authors of the material said that the well-known Sergey Dorenko became the editor-in-chief of the magazine. And the project manager was called Vadim Samodurov. This clipping also ended up in my archive, and glossy magazines followed it, with exclusive interviews of Russian politicians of the highest flying. In the imprint one could read: General Director of the Publishing House, Editor-in-Chief Vadim Samodurov. Now Mr. Samodurov is the general director of the ROSPO Publishing House, which produces a number of publishing projects, officially and unofficially supported by the Russian authorities. It is interesting that the founders of the ROSPO Publishing House are the same people mentioned by the journalist Samodurov in his then investigation. Wanting to “finish” this story from newspaper clippings to the end, to saturate it with details, I tried to meet its main character. And this meeting took place in a mansion without a sign, guarded by strict security guards, on Nikitsky Boulevard. This mansion is familiar today to many well-known and not very well-known journalists who collaborate with the “main” publications of the country.

Does the abbreviation in the name of your publishing house stand for Regional Public Organization of Law Enforcement Officers?

The abbreviation ROSPO is originally deciphered in this way. But the name of the publishing house is not deciphered in any way. The founder of the publishing house is this organization, so we got the name, which is called by birthright.

- Your journalistic investigation three years ago was devoted, among other things, to the activities of Rospo. Moreover, not the most personal facts were reported there. How did it happen that you are now an employee of this large organization?

- While working in Itogi (Itogi magazine - ed. note) as a correspondent, I was very interested in the topic of power and those who make it, serve it. Mostly curious materials were published about who makes dishes for the Kremlin, who makes flags for the Kremlin ... And I met people and collected information about who guards the President, and about who carries him, who treats him. This work brought me together with very different and interesting people, including from the special services. And then for the first time the topic of various shadow organizations arose, including those carrying out various special assignments of the authorities. So ROSPO appeared in my "working" notes. And the people working in this organization knew that I was collecting information. I had some contacts with them. After the release of this investigation, as often happens, contacts became closer ...

- Did they realize that you were underestimated?

No, rather they realized that they correctly assessed, they were not mistaken. No one has ever reproached me for slandering this organization or any of its employees. In the material, I raised topics and questions that were supported by facts ... And this was appreciated. And they offered to officially cooperate. Then they offered to lead one new direction: publishing.

This, perhaps, is indeed an indicative assessment of the work. So, they dug deep, if after the release of the investigation from journalists to general directors ...

Well, it seems that everything is so simple. Before that, I had been cooking in journalism for a long time and tried a lot of things, and worked in various positions. I was also a department editor at Vechernyaya Moskva, headed a department at an advertising agency, was an employee of RTR, editor of Dmitry Dibrov’s Night Shift on ORT, privately gave some advice to politicians ... After all, I am a certified specialist: I graduated from the faculty of international journalism Peoples' Friendship University. He himself taught a little practical journalism according to the program, which he himself developed.

And what was the decisive factor for the decision to go under the "roof" of the special services: money, status or something else?

I headed the publishing project, which had no "roof" of the special services. And, to be honest, I went to this job with a significant loss in money. It's true. Prior to this, on several projects in which I participated, I earned a total of more than in the position of CEO of the Publishing House.

- So it's still a status?

Status, if we mean by this the ability to be your own master and not depend on the insanity of newspaper bosses or the tyranny of television bosses.

- We don't name names?

You can name. But, in principle, the names here do not play any role: this is the charter of the monastery under the name "Ostankino" or under the name "MK newspaper". I can say exactly what I mean. For example, the producer of Dibrov's "Night Shift" was Kirill Evgenievich Legat, a well-known person on TV. Due to his nature, he ruined relations with almost everyone on TV, as a result, he even moved his office from Ostankino to Zagorodnoye Highway. It makes no sense to a non-television person to explain the scale of theft on TV. Well, for example, according to all official statements, the staff of the program was three times more than it actually was. And the salaries were three times higher, I saw the documents. And all the projects that Legat undertook ended in failure. This is what happened with Night Shift.

There was a moment when the leadership of ORT created a kind of journalistic pool, in which I found myself. Such a full-time critic of the channel. I know people from the leadership of the ORT channel, whom Konstantin Lvovich Ernst literally threw my most impudent publications in public in the face. And they endured! This is considered the norm.

Just like the endless "vampirism" on TV. Well-known producer Andrei Chelyadinov, who made The Last Hero, he lives all the time on the ideas of his “slaves”, to whom he does not pay anything ... This is all a very long and unpleasant conversation. In general, I chose independence and freedom from fools and bloodsuckers ...

- And your friendship with Sergey Dorenko began with television. Is it working for you now or not?

I can't say that we had a friendship. The concept of friendship involves a lot of some kind of jointly experienced things. We met Sergei Leonidovich when he hosted the author's program of Sergei Dorenko, and I combined television and newspaper journalism. He, as a professional and as a person, was very sympathetic to me, and we began such an intellectual acquaintance. Electronic correspondence, exchange of opinions, poems if you like... I did several long interviews with him both during his work at ORT and after his dismissal. He is an extremely interesting person. Interested in. Once he invited me to fly on a plane, a two-seater. I thought it was a joke, I arrived at the airfield in Myachkovo, got on the plane. And suddenly he closed the cockpit, taxied to the runway and ... We flew for more than an hour. I got off the plane just green, and he was happy as a child. When I got to know him, I realized that he never lied to himself in his author's program. He once told me that every person has the opportunity to be what he wants to be at the moment. This is how he lives. For him, Luzhkov, Putin, Berezovsky are such characters in a fairy tale that he himself composed ... And now he is playing a different game. And for him it is true again.

- And his work with you, how was it?

I can only say that Sergei Leonidovich is not working for us now. There was a lot of information in the media about his work with us. He himself never denied it. Draw your own conclusions. And I could be proud of my friendship with him. But I can only talk about acquaintance.

- And Mikhail Leontiev?

Misha and I are really friends and like-minded people. I treat him like a senior friend. And I think that Leontiev as a journalist on TV is represented by 10 percent of his capabilities. I'm interested in everything Misha says. His grades help me to work. His advice too.

- Did political predilections bring you closer to him or is it also television work?

We can say that Putin brought us together. I worked at that time as the editor of the television supplement to Vechernyaya Moskva. And when there was the first official television interview with Vladimir Putin, I very harshly criticized the manner in which Misha conducted this interview. When I arrived at Ostankino a few days later, I was told that Konstantin Ernst had summoned Leontiev and showed him this critical note. Leontiev read it, went berserk, and promised to punch me in the face. I was told so. Well, then I came to his office and said: “Hello, Mikhail. You promised to fill my face.

- So what?

He answered very well. He said, “There are a lot of people like you. So get in line." But we still talked.

- Why did you offend Mikhail Leontiev so much?

Literally, of course, I won’t reproduce it, but I wrote about how Leontiev interviewed Putin something like: “Putting his head between ...., excuse me, on Putin’s knees, Mikhail Leontiev continued to lick the authorities.” Somehow it was.

It meant "putting your head between Putin's legs"... Yes, strong! And after that, you run a magazine that is the unofficial mouthpiece of the secret services...

I don't see any contradiction here. When I wrote this, I just wanted to tell Misha not to bend low. Especially when dealing with power. And it doesn't look pretty.

But let's go back to the very beginning of your history as a publisher of a special services magazine. You accused Rospo of putting pressure on business, hinted that they were engaged in the physical elimination of people objectionable to the authorities, they were conducting some kind of dark business related to the sale of weapons, and so on. You, like Dorenko, can become who you want to be at the moment? Today - a journalist who exposes the dirty deeds of the special services, and tomorrow - their true friend ...

You know, as a journalist, you should know what the stratification of knowledge is. This is the degree of availability of knowledge, which is determined by previous experience and whether this knowledge is necessary for a person. You see, if you tell the layman that some organization is selling weapons, he will be horrified. And if you say the same thing to a military analyst, he will tell you what place this organization occupies in the arms sales market. Do you understand? Yes, ROSPO is related to weapons. But not to sell it, but to buy it for our special forces. I can say this as an official: since I am also the head of the press service of Rospo. There is nothing criminal in this activity. Everything is legal and official. Everything else is without comment. There is the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office: those who accuse Rospo of putting pressure on business, contract killings, lobbying laws, lobbying the interests of individual economic entities in major economic scandals - let them turn to these bodies. All I can say about myself is that when accepting a job offer, I asked my employers all the questions that I could not get an answer to as a journalist, and their answers satisfied me.

- For example?

For example, I asked what the Organization really does: from start to finish, the whole range of activities.

- And what did they answer you?

They told. I will not expand, because the list of cases, services and projects is very significant. Again, as an official of the organization I say, now ALL information about the activities of Rospo is available. How you or someone else interprets it is already a private matter for everyone.

Last year, you filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office on the fact of pressure on you by some people associated with the FSB in connection with the investigations conducted by you and your employees. Your statement went through the Kommersant newspaper and Novaya Gazeta. Your position does not give you immunity from such influences?

And who am I to have any special status or immunity? I am a journalist on the one hand, and a manager on the other. When my safety was threatened, I turned to the law and its representatives for help.

- Did you get this help?

As soon as the statement was given a move, the pressure stopped, those who were possibly involved in this contacted me, and we found out the relationship in a civilized manner.

This statement was connected, as far as I understand, with the fact that you launched a new project, the investigative journalism newspaper Delo No. Two questions. First. Is this due to the fact that the project of publishing a magazine of Russian special services failed. Second. Why did he fail?

The application to the Prosecutor General's Office was written even before the Investigative Newspaper "DELO#" was published. Threats against me and my employees were related to some publications in the magazine "MR" Men's work. These publications touched upon, among other things, the illegal activities of some employees of the special services and high government officials, for example, the deputy chairman of the State Committee for Sports, and now the governor of the Tver region, Dmitry Zelenin. As for whether the special services magazine succeeded or failed - "MR" Men's work. He certainly succeeded as a project. He was noticed right away. And in the two years that it has been in existence, we have received so many positive responses to our work that we can retire with peace of mind. And I believe that our special services need this magazine like nothing else. Needed, including to educate them. Because since 1985, so many professionals have left the special services and so many random people have come in that they need to at least understand what they do and why the state spends our money on them. And I conceived this magazine as a kind of "inner voice" of the special services, which would not be an official mouthpiece, but a normal human voice. And many officers and ordinary employees are grateful for the creation of such a magazine. Another thing is that the careerists in the rank of deputies who run our special services did not give up on our magazine in FIG. Because in order for them to be interested in its existence, I need to agree with them so that they sign orders for a mandatory subscription to the magazine of employees in all regions of Russia. Can you imagine, it will be millions of copies. And from these circulations, someone needs to be promised a rollback. And I will never go for it. How not to wag my tail in front of those who are not doing their job.

- Who doesn't?

Well, try to at least write an editorial letter to the State Drug Control Service with a request to get an interview with V.V. Cherkesov.

- So what?

You will never receive it. Not because Cherkesov does not give interviews. But because the generals in the State Drug Control Service, who are supposed to deal with this, will fool you, play football ... They are doing something else. They share power. Cabinets. They come up with figures on how many tons of heroin pass through Russia every year. And you journalists, let them lie. You compare the numbers that they are voicing with the average daily heroin consumption in, say, New York. Do the math. It turns out that the whole of Russia is on the needle. Moreover, the population is not enough. Ask Major General Mikhailov from the State Drug Control Service what methods should be used to fight the HIV epidemic...

Why should he think about it?

But because the State Drug Control Service systematically closes programs to reduce the risk of HIV infection among drug addicts. And Major General Mikhailov is in some way responsible for the relationship of the State Drug Control Service with the public and the media. He must know. But he will not answer you. I'm not sure you'll be able to find him at work at all.

I will definitely try and ask. But you are not afraid that after the publication of this interview, your management will call you to the carpet?

For what? For what I said, how bad things are in the special services. So my management knows perfectly well that things are even worse. Well, then, I said that I chose between the opportunity to be an independent journalist and the ability to lie for relatively little money. I chose the path of an independent journalist. This implies responsibility for every word. And the willingness to answer ....

Vadim SAMODUROV

THE RICHEST PEOPLE ON THE EARTH.

big twenty

Information about the size of the fortunes of the mentioned entrepreneurs is given based on materials published in the periodical for September 2008

Foreword

Counting other people's money is a thankless and low occupation. At least this position is generally accepted from the point of view of public morality. True, when it comes to the heroes of this book, ethics and morality obligingly and quickly step aside. The list of the richest inhabitants of the planet is just the case when size matters. And the larger the size, the weaker the voices of moralists... The paradox of human nature: counting pennies in a neighbor's pocket is shameful, discussing the billions of oligarchs is natural.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the attention of the whole world is riveted to the wallets of the heroes of this book. Without a shadow of hesitation, experts from reputable international publications are closely monitoring how much money is spent and how the incomes of the world's richest people are growing. At least twice a year, a dry summary of the latest changes in the wallets of the owners of multibillion-dollar fortunes is put on public display. Based on these calculations, they, like racehorses, are ranked in the world ranking of the rich. These are perhaps the most exciting and nervous races for both participants and idle observers. The difference between first and second place is determined not by seconds, but by billions of dollars. Sometimes, within one year, the absolute leaders suddenly move five to seven steps down as a result of an unexpected collapse of the stock market, the quite predictable impacts of global financial crises, or a local mortgage crisis, such as the one that is currently happening in the United States ... Money is not only do not give rest to idle townsfolk, they do not guarantee peace of mind to their owners.

Behind the enthusiastic details of materials about houses, yachts, planes, cars, collections of the world's billionaires lies the "harsh underside of capitalism." Most of the richest people on the planet, oddly enough, continue to work twelve to fourteen hours a day, sometimes seven days a week. Billionaires are forced to fight for their interests not only with competitors, but also with the bureaucratic systems of their own states, as Bill Gates does, for example, and as Ingvar Kamprad did. Big money separates families, like the Ambani family, and deprives them of privacy. Accusations of corruption, numerous lawsuits, compromising wars, business espionage, the struggle of heirs, loneliness ... This is not a complete list of those "everyday problems" that these minions of fate live with.

One of the richest people in the world who agreed to share some details of his life for this book, Sheldon Adelson, told me: Money is a test. This is the surest way to "check a person for lice" that God can have. Try to look at the life of those you will write about from this point of view.. This thought of the son of a taxi driver from the poor quarter who became a billionaire later came to my mind more than once. You begin to understand it especially deeply when you compare the biographies and life values ​​of European, American, Indian, Chinese billionaires and the lifestyle of young Russian oligarchs. They have a drama, we have a farce. There, the main commandments of wealth are diligence and frugality; in our country, triumphant extravagance, ostentatious luxury, provincial merchant frenzy...

However, the life experience of those who became a billionaire not ten, but twenty, thirty, forty years ago, shows that the intoxication from big money passes sooner or later. And perhaps, in ten or fifteen years, the Russian leaders of the current "golden twenty" will open charitable foundations in their name, invest in education, healthcare development, sponsor scientific research and protect the environment. It's difficult to imagine? Bill Gates once also aspired to be the richest man on the planet, he surprised and shocked, but in the end he decided to devote himself entirely to charity. But this topic is the subject of a separate discussion.

The book that you are holding in your hands is not a parenting manual, in which “bad” and “good” oligarchs would be sorted out. Rather, it is a rather detailed guide to an amazing, but strange and closed world, which is dreamed of by quite a large part of humanity.

Vadim Samodurov

big twenty

The richest people on earth

According to Forbes magazine (2008)

1 - Warren Buffett /Warren Buffett– $62 billion

2 – Carlos Slim Elu / Carlos SlimHelu– 60 billion dollars

3 - William (Bill) Gates III / William (Bill) Gates III– $58 billion

4 - Lakshmi Mittal / Lakshmi Mittal– $57 billion

5 - Mukesh Ambani / Mukesh Ambani– $43 billion

6 - Anil Ambani / Anil Ambani– $42 billion

7 - Ingvar Kamprad / Ingvar Kamprad– $31 billion

8 - Kushal Pal Singh / K. P. Singh– 30 billion dollars

9 - Oleg Deripaska / Oleg Deripaska– $28 billion

10 - Karl Albrecht / Karl Albrecht– $27 billion

11 - Li Ka-shing / Li Ka-shing– $26.5 billion

12 – Sheldon Adelson / Sheldon Adelson– 26 billion dollars

13 - Bernard Arnault / Bernard Arnault– $25.5 billion

14 – Lawrence Ellison / Lawrence Ellison– $25 billion

15 – Roman Abramovich / Roman Abramovich– 23.5 billion

16 - Theo Albrecht / Theo Albrecht– $23 billion

17 - Lillian Betancourt / Liliane Bettencourt– $22.9 billion

18 – Alexey Mordashov / Alexey Mordashov– $21.2 billion

19 - Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud / Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud– $21 billion

20 – Mikhail Fridman / Mikhail Fridman– $20.8 billion

$62 billion

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffet

The name of this elderly American, who will turn 78 in 2008, is surrounded by myths and legends. To the inexperienced look of a person far from the world of big money, this gray-haired old man with lively eyes and flabby cheeks is nothing remarkable. He lives in an old house located in his native provincial town of Omaha. For a long time, he went to the grocery store in an old Honda, which he bought for $ 700 in the used car market ten years ago. He buys boots and suits at sales or economy class stores. But in his case, these ordinary and completely understandable "little things in life" cause surprise and admiration, reaching hysteria. After all, the name of this old man in worn-out $20 boots is Warren Buffett. With a fortune estimated at $62 billion, he stands (still in the same cheap glued-soled boots) at the very top of the Forbes "big list" and is not only the richest inhabitant of the planet, but also the most famous and successful modern investor.

The main problem standing in the way of resolving the conflict in Donbass is the recognition of the DPR and LPR by the international community.

Even in the Minsk agreements there is not a single point in which the subjectivity of the republics would be considered differently than the territories temporarily under the control of insurgents who have their own political and social claims against Ukraine.

Nevertheless, the recognition of the DPR and LPR as states (after all, no other legal and legitimate subjects are indicated in international law) would become an effective mechanism for streamlining the negotiation process and achieving the final result.

The Normandy format does not take into account the opinion of the republics. The DPR and LPR are represented only at the Minsk negotiation platform. But even there, representatives of Ukraine refuse to engage in dialogue with them, as they consider Russia to be “puppet henchmen”.

Such a position, which only reduces the chances of a peaceful settlement and the gradual implementation of the terms of the agreement, became possible due to the West ignoring the fact that new entities appeared on the border of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, possessing all the signs of statehood.

However, in fairness, it should be noted that this situation is not a precedent, and

we have long known several unrecognized and partially recognized states whose indeterminate status has lasted for decades.

A similar alignment should be noted in relation to the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and Nagorno-Karabakh. Which, existing in fact as independent states, for a quarter of a century, however, are not recognized by any officially existing state.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Taiwan, Palestine, Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognized by a limited number of states (from one to 135), but this does not give them full access to membership in the UN and other international organizations.

The example of Palestine, recognized by 135 states and gradually gaining recognition in the Western European world, relies on one interesting detail.

It is not lobbying structures like the Armenians, and not even the presence of a powerful geopolitical patron, like Kosovo, that has caused the world to look at the Palestinians with sympathy. The very left-liberal cultural model that dominates the Western world has led to the fact that Palestine, unlike other unrecognized and partially recognized states, has observer status in the UN, and prime ministers and presidents of many countries meet with its leaders. The discourse of sacrifice made Palestine what it is today.

The Jews have the status of the people who suffered the most during the Second World War. But it was the Palestinian Arabs who won the right from Israel to call themselves the main "sufferers" of the last 70 years.

The leftists of the whole world - from Latin America to Eastern Europe - see Israel as an aggressor, carrying out purges of the Arab population of Palestine and depriving them of elementary democratic rights. It is the left that are the main defenders of the Palestinians. In their eyes, they are the main martyrs of the 21st century, to whom the Western capitalist world turned a blind eye for decades.

But why is Donbas worse than Palestine? Since 2000 alone, more than nine thousand Palestinians have become victims of the confrontation between the Arab population and Israel. Approximately 10 thousand residents of Donbass died in three years as a result of the “ATO” launched by Kiev.

Of course, the Arab-Israeli conflict drags on longer, but it is worth noting that neighboring Arab states took part in many conflicts around Palestine: Syria, Egypt and Jordan. Support was given to the Palestinians openly and fearlessly.

An information campaign is needed to recognize the victims of Donbass during the military aggression of Kyiv. And it is better to conduct it not even in Moscow, which is considered by many in Europe as a "puppeteer" and "roof" of the militias, but by the republics themselves.

For the military leader, who is Zakharchenko, this is difficult, almost impossible, as it breaks the image of a strong and strong-willed figure who refuses to admit losses.

We need some figure - a journalist or a human rights activist who will travel around the world and talk about the course and victims of the conflict. Like the Tibetan Dalai Lama, persistently and painstakingly preparing public opinion in many parts of the world for the future acceptance of Tibet into the ranks of free and independent states. That is, it must be a person with a clean reputation, not tainted in calls to war or any crimes.

It is not yet possible to name a specific person, but it would be optimal if it turns out to be a native of Donbass, who saw the war and stands for its immediate cessation.

It is also important that such a figure should not have connections with the former leadership of Ukraine - for the residents of Donbass, Yanukovych's henchmen now do not have an ounce of authority.

Winning over Western politicians, experts, cultural figures and human rights activists is by no means one of the unsolvable tasks. Fortunately, even in the West, Donbass has a great many sympathizers - from the Spanish left, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the militias, to the figures of Amnesty International, who were the first to point out the fact that Kiev was using banned weapons.

German anti-fascists, activists of the socialist movements in Latin America, Italian communists, individual social democratic politicians - all of them, in one form or another, are on the side of the republics.

The starter package of trust is already in the hands of Donbass, now it is time to realize this potential through international recognition of Ukraine's war crimes.

Edited by online publications
Vsluh.ru and Kompromat.ru

Dear chief editors!

On Monday, March 22, 2010, the Kompromat.ru publication reprinted the material "Robin Hood under the Sheriffs' Care", previously published in the Vslukh.ru online publication. The author of this material, a certain Stas Purvenis, is trying to "refute" the facts I have stated in my new journalistic investigation published in The Moscow Post newspaper. I will not go into the details of my journalistic investigation, because it would take a lot of time, and everyone can familiarize themselves with my materials on this topic - they are in the public domain. I just want to comment on the cowardly anonymous letter you published, signed with a fictitious name - Stas Purvenis.

A man named Stas Purvenis does not exist in nature. Which gives me reason to assume that the authors of this material are liars and cowards. I see no other reason to hide behind false names. The nature of the material, the level of argumentation, the style, as well as the obvious orientation of the material in the interests of those who seized the Marco Polo Hotel in St. Petersburg, give me reason to assume that Alexei Kamyshan and Vitaly Shpakov. But this is not so important, this is my subjective opinion. At the moment, I'm more interested in facts or what the authors are trying to pass off as facts. Since the authors of the material are trying in this way to undermine the credibility of the facts and conclusions published by me, and also try to discredit me, I consider it necessary to answer their "statements".

I'll start with the main one. All the facts presented by me in the materials of the journalistic investigation concerning the raider seizure of the private Marco Polo hotel in St. Petersburg were taken by me from official documents received from the Vasileostrovskiy District Court of St. Petersburg, the Department for Supervision of the ORD of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate and the District Department of Internal Affairs of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, the press service of CB Moskommertsbank. All these documents, as well as written testimonies of participants in the events, can be presented to all interested parties, as well as presented in court.

I want to remind the authors of the article that Aleksey Viktorovich Kamyshan, whose business reputation the authors defend so earnestly, also had the opportunity not only to get acquainted with these documents, but also to present his position and his vision of the situation. In the course of working on a journalistic investigation, I repeatedly turned to him (as well as to other participants in the events) with this proposal. However, under various pretexts, Aleksey Viktorovich avoided communication, preferring, as a result, to an open dialogue the publication of a “fabulous” masterpiece about the intrigues of special services, corrupt journalism and other horrors.

The tandem of gentlemen "Purvenisov", trying to question my conclusions, writes in particular. “This is the version of Vadim Samodurov, a moderately well-known writer who, in search of the truth about the wrong side of big business, rummaged even in Bill Gates' underwear. The rather modest scale of the activities of the characters from this story, compared to the top twenty Forbes, did not bother him. And as a result, The Moscow Post published a fascinating article about Alexei Kamyshan, one of the shareholders of Marco Polo SPB, who, with a light writer’s hand, became a typical operetta villain”. I will not question the extent of my literary fame. I can only say that none of the heroes of my books, with whom I personally met or communicated via the Internet or telephone, whether they were Russian representatives of the Forbes list or its foreign representatives, did not express any complaints about the works I published.

Now, as for the conspiracy theories about my connection with the mysterious organization called ROSPO, which the Purvenisas are talking about in their “refutative” material. Allegedly, my investigation was inspired by this mysterious and powerful organization. Here I laughed. Indeed, I served as the head of the ROSPO publishing house, and indeed at some point I left this post. It happened five years ago, so I don’t even quite understand what this has to do with the topic of my current journalistic investigation. And it’s completely incomprehensible to me how my past publishing activity, which I conducted as the head of the ROSPO publishing house, which produced several well-known printed projects, can be connected with some mysterious forces that allegedly persecute the “honest businessmen” Kamyshan and Shpakov.

The funny thing is that the authors of the material describing the machinations of the mysterious Rospo write that “ROSPO is ready to assist in the return of real estate to the rightful owners…” Does this mean that Aleksey Viktorovich Kamyshan, who writes under the pseudonym Purvenis, admits that he is currently illegally holding the Marco Polo Hotel, and that he is the legal owner Victor Melnik? That's really really "on the thief and the hat is on fire"! And how do you like to say there, Mr. Kamyshan-Purvenis: “A thief should be in prison!”? And although this is not your thought, you also stole it, I completely agree with this thought. Therefore, I will continue to write and bring to light scoundrels and scum who take away someone else's property; for money they initiate criminal cases against innocent people; get rid of their prison mistresses, knocking people to death on sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, "order" their business partners ...

Vadim SAMODUROV

THE RICHEST PEOPLE ON THE EARTH.

big twenty

Information about the size of the fortunes of the mentioned entrepreneurs is given based on materials published in the periodical for September 2008

Foreword

Counting other people's money is a thankless and low occupation. At least this position is generally accepted from the point of view of public morality. True, when it comes to the heroes of this book, ethics and morality obligingly and quickly step aside. The list of the richest inhabitants of the planet is just the case when size matters. And the larger the size, the weaker the voices of moralists... The paradox of human nature: counting pennies in a neighbor's pocket is shameful, discussing the billions of oligarchs is natural.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the attention of the whole world is riveted to the wallets of the heroes of this book. Without a shadow of hesitation, experts from reputable international publications are closely monitoring how much money is spent and how the incomes of the world's richest people are growing. At least twice a year, a dry summary of the latest changes in the wallets of the owners of multibillion-dollar fortunes is put on public display. Based on these calculations, they, like racehorses, are ranked in the world ranking of the rich. These are perhaps the most exciting and nervous races for both participants and idle observers. The difference between first and second place is determined not by seconds, but by billions of dollars. Sometimes, within one year, the absolute leaders suddenly move five to seven steps down as a result of an unexpected collapse of the stock market, the quite predictable impacts of global financial crises, or a local mortgage crisis, such as the one that is currently happening in the United States ... Money is not only do not give rest to idle townsfolk, they do not guarantee peace of mind to their owners.

Behind the enthusiastic details of materials about houses, yachts, planes, cars, collections of the world's billionaires lies the "harsh underside of capitalism." Most of the richest people on the planet, oddly enough, continue to work twelve to fourteen hours a day, sometimes seven days a week. Billionaires are forced to fight for their interests not only with competitors, but also with the bureaucratic systems of their own states, as Bill Gates does, for example, and as Ingvar Kamprad did. Big money separates families, like the Ambani family, and deprives them of privacy. Accusations of corruption, numerous lawsuits, compromising wars, business espionage, the struggle of heirs, loneliness ... This is not a complete list of those "everyday problems" that these minions of fate live with.

One of the richest people in the world who agreed to share some details of his life for this book, Sheldon Adelson, told me: Money is a test. This is the surest way to "check a person for lice" that God can have. Try to look at the life of those you will write about from this point of view.. This thought of the son of a taxi driver from the poor quarter who became a billionaire later came to my mind more than once. You begin to understand it especially deeply when you compare the biographies and life values ​​of European, American, Indian, Chinese billionaires and the lifestyle of young Russian oligarchs. They have a drama, we have a farce. There, the main commandments of wealth are diligence and frugality; in our country, triumphant extravagance, ostentatious luxury, provincial merchant frenzy...

However, the life experience of those who became a billionaire not ten, but twenty, thirty, forty years ago, shows that the intoxication from big money passes sooner or later. And perhaps, in ten or fifteen years, the Russian leaders of the current "golden twenty" will open charitable foundations in their name, invest in education, healthcare development, sponsor scientific research and protect the environment. It's difficult to imagine? Bill Gates once also aspired to be the richest man on the planet, he surprised and shocked, but in the end he decided to devote himself entirely to charity. But this topic is the subject of a separate discussion.

The book that you are holding in your hands is not a parenting manual, in which “bad” and “good” oligarchs would be sorted out. Rather, it is a rather detailed guide to an amazing, but strange and closed world, which is dreamed of by quite a large part of humanity.

Vadim Samodurov

big twenty

The richest people on earth

According to Forbes magazine (2008)

1 - Warren Buffett /Warren Buffett– $62 billion

2 – Carlos Slim Elu/ Carlos SlimHelu– 60 billion dollars

3 - William (Bill) Gates III/William (Bill) Gates III– $58 billion

4 - Lakshmi Mittal/ Lakshmi Mittal– $57 billion

5 - Mukesh Ambani/ Mukesh Ambani– $43 billion

6 - Anil Ambani / Anil Ambani– $42 billion

7 - Ingvar Kamprad/ Ingvar Kamprad– $31 billion

8 - Kushal Pal Singh/ K. P. Singh– 30 billion dollars

9 - Oleg Deripaska/ Oleg Deripaska– $28 billion

10 - Karl Albrecht/ Karl Albrecht– $27 billion

11 - Li Ka-shing/ Li Ka-shing– $26.5 billion

12 – Sheldon Adelson/ Sheldon Adelson– 26 billion dollars

13 - Bernard Arnault/ Bernard Arnault– $25.5 billion

14 – Lawrence Ellison/ Lawrence Ellison– $25 billion

15 – Roman Abramovich/ Roman Abramovich– 23.5 billion

16 - Theo Albrecht/ Theo Albrecht– $23 billion

17 - Lillian Betancourt/ Liliane Bettencourt– $22.9 billion

18 – Alexey Mordashov/ Alexey Mordashov– $21.2 billion

19 - Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud/ Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud– $21 billion

20 – Mikhail Fridman/ Mikhail Fridman– $20.8 billion

$62 billion

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffet

The name of this elderly American, who will turn 78 in 2008, is surrounded by myths and legends. To the inexperienced look of a person far from the world of big money, this gray-haired old man with lively eyes and flabby cheeks is nothing remarkable. He lives in an old house located in his native provincial town of Omaha. For a long time, he went to the grocery store in an old Honda, which he bought for $ 700 in the used car market ten years ago. He buys boots and suits at sales or economy class stores. But in his case, these ordinary and completely understandable "little things in life" cause surprise and admiration, reaching hysteria. After all, the name of this old man in worn-out $20 boots is Warren Buffett. With a fortune estimated at $62 billion, he stands (still in the same cheap glued-soled boots) at the very top of the Forbes "big list" and is not only the richest inhabitant of the planet, but also the most famous and successful modern investor.

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska. His grandfather was a grocery store owner. (Curiously, one of Buffett's longtime associates, Charlie Munger, now in his 80s, served as a clerk in Warren Buffett's grandfather's shop.) It was a classic Protestant family in which diligence, thrift, material success were a continuation of the creed. It is probably no coincidence that Buffett's father showed certain commercial talents. Howard Buffett was a prosperous stockbroker who earned his living selling various commodities and securities on the stock exchange. Later, Warren Buffett named his son after his father, who is a full partner in the business. Howard Buffett was in many ways an example for his son. Following the example of his father, Warren wanted to create the same big and strong family. Howard Buffett had four children: three daughters and a son. In terms of the number of children (he has three of them), Warren Buffett did not manage to “jump over” his father. This is perhaps the only thing in which he could not surpass the parent. As for business acumen and material success, Warren was all right with this since childhood.