[AdmSmith]

Citing sources inside the president's administration, Belkovsky claims that after eight years in power Putin has secretly accumulated more than $40bn (£20bn). The sum would make him Russia's - and Europe's - richest man.

In an interview with the Guardian, Belkovsky repeated his claims that Putin owns vast holdings in three Russian oil and gas companies, concealed behind a “non-transparent network of offshore trusts”.

Putin “effectively” controls 37% of the shares of Surgutneftegaz, an oil exploration company and Russia's third biggest oil producer, worth $20bn, he says. He also owns 4.5% of Gazprom, and “at least 75%” of Gunvor, a mysterious Swiss-based oil trader, founded by Gennady Timchenko, a friend of the president's, Belkovsky alleges.

Asked how much Putin was worth, Belkovsky said: “At least $40bn. Maximum we cannot know. I suspect there are some businesses I know nothing about.” He added: “It may be more. It may be much more.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/21/russia.topstories3

Even if he has 10 %, or 1 %, of the above it is serious money.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Also covered in last night's program on C-span. It was a great synopsis of all the sources and they got it into about an hour — supposed to have questions and answers at the end, but the press was so depressed and stunned, they didn't get many.

[autumnraine]

I wonder if we (the world) assumes that Hitler was the last great evil dictator/world conqueror? Or Stalin?

Like Napoleon, Stalin and Hitler would just be it, no more. I know we seem to think we as a society have grown above such things, but we may come to realize that we are all just naive.

Could Putin really be the next Hitler? If he has the wealth, and obviously the world fears him. That is the thing that scares me the most, that no one is willing to fight him. That is obvious from this week. He got confirmation that the world won’t touch him.