Gennady Timchenko

Oil baron bought up shares in Russia's second biggest gas producer, Novatek , last year. He also bought a 25% stake in Geotek, one of the biggest geological exploration companies in Russia. In the late 1980s ran Kinex, a state-owned oil exporter. Became one of its main shareholders when it was later privatized. Today is one of the co-owners of the Gunvor Group, one of the largest international energy traders (2010 revenues: $65 billion), through which state-controlled Rosneft and Gazpromneft oil firms export their products. Controls the engineering and construction company Stroytransgaz, Gazprom's contractor. Also has Finnish citizenship, lives in Switzerland. He won several cases against Russian and UK media outfits that wrote about his business successes in relation to his alleged close ties with Vladimir Putin.