Russia’s Oligarchs Are Stashing Their Wealth Abroad — Just Like America’s
The techniques Russian billionaires use to avoid taxes and hide their wealth are the same ones American billionaires use. In fact, they often execute them with the help of the same Western companies.
A yacht believed to be owned by a Russian businessman with ties to Vladimir Putin was seized in London. (Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the economic sanctions it’s elicited from Western countries, has generated much discussion of its oligarch class — symbolized by yachts and expensive properties in Europe, America, and throughout the world. What is the extent of oligarchy in Russia? What strategies do Russia’s economic elite use to hide their wealth? And how, if at all, can they be distinguished from their Western analogues?
To explore these questions, Jacobin’s Luke Savage spoke with Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions.
Luke Savage
Since Russia commenced its invasion of Ukraine, we’ve been hearing a lot about its oligarchs. The term has been somewhat selectively applied given that there are also plenty of oligarchs in the West. Nevertheless, there is a specific context for wealth concentration in Russia — and the concentration is quite extreme. What’s the overall picture?
Chuck Collins
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