Legends were circulating about the squandering of the "old wave" oligarchs. Russian businessmen bought yachts and suburban mansions, spent tens of thousands of dollars on banquets and in every way attracted attention. With Putin's rise to power, everything changed: the remaining free oligarchs began to behave quietly and calmly, spending their millions without too much publicity.
The behavior of the oligarchs of the 90s seriously bothered the Russian government. Millionaires and billionaires provoked an extremely negative attitude towards themselves both among their fellow citizens and abroad. The names of Deripaska, Prokhorov, Abramovich began to symbolize the flashy luxury of the highest echelon of Russian business. Since this situation did not suit Putin, the oligarchs had to "slow down."
How modern oligarchs behave
French journalists from Le Figaro tried to figure out how modern oligarchs behave. It turned out that millionaires and billionaires of the “new wave" live modestly. They do business and quietly make new billions under the wing of power, without attracting too much attention. Rotenberg, Kovalchuk, Timchenko build their empires, avoiding publicity and publicity.
Timchenko is engaged in the most profitable business in Russia: oil. Under the leadership of Timchenko, the oil trading company Gunvor and one of the branches of Russian Railways work. The oligarch calmly pumps oil and is engaged in its transportation, without even thinking about politics. Such exemplary behavior makes itself felt: a trader who was not known to anyone back in 2000, for 14 years has become a respected and respectable businessman.
Kovalchuk is a media banker unpopular but very well-known in business circles. This oligarch is engaged in the construction of a thermal power plant in St. Petersburg, is laying a highway connecting the two capitals, and is reconstructing large highways. Another modest builder, Rotenberg, is laying pipelines for pumping oil by Gazprom.
