Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader Russia accused of mounting a coup and what is his net worth? He is a wealthy businessman.
Mr. Prigozhin is the founder of the mercenary military group Wagner. He has played a vital role in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, recruiting thousands to his Wagner mercenary group, especially from Russian jails.
He has long been in an open feud with the military chiefs running the war, but that has now turned into a revolt as they try to bring his forces under their command structure.
Wagner forces have crossed from occupied eastern Ukraine into the big southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and claim to have taken control of the city and its military facilities.
A new BBC reports the Russian leader has accused Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin of treason, embarking on an armed rebellion and “a stab in the back of our country”. One of Russia’s most important figures, Prigozhin says his aim is “not a military coup but a march for justice”.
Now, a lot of people are curious to know more about Prigozhin, especially regarding his finances. So, how rich is the military leader, and how does he make his money? Read on for more.
Credit…Yulia Morozova/Reuters
Profile Summary
| Celebrated Name: | Yevgeny Prigozhin |
| Net Worth: | $1 billion (est.) |
| Profession: | Russian oligarch, mercenary chief |
| Source of wealth: | Business and military |
| Company: | Founder of Mercenary military group Wagner |
| Full Real Name: | Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin |
| Date of Birth: | June 1, 1961 (age 62 years) |
| Birthplace: | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Nationality: | Russian, Soviet |
| Parents: | Violetta Prigozhina |
| Spouse: | Lyubov Prigozhina |
| Children: | Polina Prigozhina, Pavel Prigozhin |
| Education: | Училище Олимпийского Резерва № 1 (1977), Sankt-Peterburgskiy Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskiy Universitet |
How rich is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin is a Russian oligarch and the founder of the mercenary military group Wagner.
Yevgeny was born on June 1, 1961, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He is currently 62 years old and has a Russian, Soviet as his nationality.
As Wagner’s publicity has grown, so has that of its shadowy founder, Prigozhin. His work running a catering company with Kremlin contracts earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef,” but Prigozhin long denied any connection to the group before finally admitting to being its founder last year.
What is Yevgeny Prigozhin’s net worth? Russian oligarch, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin has accumulated significant wealth over the years. His net worth is estimated to be around $1 billion. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s influence and close ties to Vladimir Putin have made him a prominent figure in Russian politics and society.
Mr. Prigozhin has risen from a businessman known as President Vladimir V. Putin’s “chef” to a symbol of wartime Russia, controlling a private army operating from Ukraine to the Central African Republic.
Yevgeny V. Prigozhin became rich through his personal ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, winning lucrative catering and construction contracts with the Russian government while building a mercenary force known as Wagner.
He hit the big time when he was awarded a contract to supply meals to the Russian military, which was worth a staggering $1.2 billion for one year, per Daily Mail. He is alleged to have used part of this booty to fund the Internet Research Agency.
He also won a contract to supply food to Moscow’s schools. In 2019, a dysentery outbreak was tracked back to his produce. By all accounts, Prigozhin was siphoning off so much money hygiene standards were sacrificed.
He was living on a $105 million St Petersburg estate, which included a house for his daughter Polina, who boasted on social media that the family’s yacht — named St Vitamin — had ‘six bedrooms, a dining room, a terrace, a kitchen, rooms for the staff, two decks and a terrace’.
Source: Daily Mail
In February 2018, Mr. Prigozhin was one of 13 Russians indicted by a federal grand jury for interfering in the American election through the Internet Research Agency, a troll factory that spread falsehoods and waged information warfare against the United States, in support of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump.
The United States imposed sanctions against Mr. Prigozhin in December 2016.
Born in 1961 when St. Petersburg was called Leningrad, Mr. Prigozhin was sent to prison in 1981 for robbery and other crimes, according to Meduza, an online investigative publication.
After serving his nine-year sentence, he opened a hot-dog stand, eventually leading to an entrepreneurial career starting restaurants and convenience stores.