Steel baron Vladimir Lisin was ranked Russia's richest man by Forbes magazine on Friday after a year in which the number of Russian billionaires doubled to 62 as resource tycoons restored their riches following the crisis.
Lisin, the 53-year-old owner of Novolipetsk Steel, more than tripled his fortune to $15.8-billion in the last year to head a top 20 dominated by the elite of Russia's steel, oil and mining sectors, Forbes said.
Lisin, a clay pigeon shooting enthusiast and huntsman, replaced Mikhail Prokhorov at the top of the list. Prokhorov, of gold miner Polyus and investment bank Renaissance Capital, saw his fortune rise to $13.4-billion.
Third on the list was Mikhail Fridman, whose interests in telecoms, retail and oil doubled to $12.7-billion.
Russia's economy, heavily reliant on oil, is recovering from its deepest economic slump in 15 years due to improved global consumer demand and higher crude prices.
The stock index has doubled in value in the last 12 months, while the rouble is trading at 16-month highs.
Forbes said the number of Russian billionaires rose to 62 from 32 a year ago. The combined net worth of the 100 richest people was $297-billion, more than twice the $142-billion total of last year.
But Russia's rich have not returned to the levels of 2008, when their combined net worth was $520-billion.
Then, Oleg Deripaska was the richest man in Russia. He ranked fifth on the 2010 list after tripling his fortune to $10.7-billion and securing Russia's biggest-ever private debt restructuring for his aluminium company, UC RUSAL.
Just ahead of Deripaska was another former richest man, Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich, who owns stakes in steel maker Evraz and Highland Gold Mining.
The only woman on the list was Yelena Baturina, wife of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who was 27th after her fortune - acquired in the construction business - rose to $2.9-billion from $900-million a year ago.
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