Forbes Kazakhstan, the Kazakh branch of the American magazine Forbes, reported on April 1 that seven Kazakhstani businessmen were included in the 2025 Forbes list of the world’s richest people: Vyacheslav Kim, Mikhail Lomtadze, Timur Turlov, Vladimir Kim, Timur and Dinara Kulibayev, and Bulat Utemuratov.
In 2025, Vyacheslav Kim remains Kazakhstan’s richest businessman. Forbes estimates the fortune of the Kaspi.kz shareholder and chairman of the board at $7.1 billion (compared to $5.8 billion last year). His global ranking rose from 511th place in 2024 to 464th in 2025.
Mikhail Lomtadze, Kim’s partner, ranks second among Kazakhstani businessmen and 597th globally. The Georgian citizen’s net worth is $5.9 billion (compared to $5.2 billion and 581st place in 2024).
Timur Turlov, founder of Freedom Holding, jumped from fifth to third place among Kazakhstani businessmen. His fortune grew from $3.3 billion to $5.8 billion, boosting his rank from 991st to 605th globally.
Ranked fourth is Vladimir Kim, a shareholder of KAZ Minerals and Kazakhmys, with a fortune of $5.7 billion (up from $3.6 billion in 2024). His Forbes global ranking improved from 896th to 620th place.
Timur and Dinara Kulibayev took fifth and sixth places among Kazakhstani billionaires, sharing 673rd place globally (down from 612th in 2024). Each has a net worth of $5.3 billion (compared to $5 billion last year).
Bulat Utemuratov, a ForteBank shareholder, ranked seventh among Kazakhstani billionaires. His fortune increased from $2.7 billion to $3.7 billion, moving him from 1,238th to 979th place globally.
The total wealth of Kazakhstan’s six billionaires in 2025 is estimated at $38.8 billion (up from $25.4 billion in 2024).
World’s Richest Billionaires
The world’s richest person in 2025 is Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX, with a fortune of $342 billion - an increase of $147 billion over the year.
Last year’s leader, Bernard Arnault, President and CEO of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), dropped to fifth place. His wealth decreased by $55 billion, now estimated at $178 billion.
Moving from fourth to second place is Meta (formerly Facebook) co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, with $216 billion (up from $177 billion in 2024).
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ranks third, with a net worth of $215 billion, according to Forbes.
The Forbes World’s Billionaires list estimates the total wealth of the world’s 20 richest people at $2.8 trillion.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
April 1, 2025