Two Russian Jews on Forbes’ list

MOSCOW, July 15 (JTA) — Two Russian Jewish tycoons were listed by Forbes magazine as the nation’s richest people. Boris Berezovsky, a businessman-turned-politician, cracked the top 100 of the magazine’s annual list of the world’s wealthiest individuals. He was ranked in the 97th spot, with an accumulated wealth of $3 billion. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, president of the Rosprom financial-industrial group, ranked 133rd, with a wealth of $2.4 billion. Berezovsky is currently suing Forbes magazine in a London court for an article about him that appeared last December titled, “Is He the Godfather of the Kremlin?” The article appeared after Berezovsky, who made his fortune in oil, automobiles and media, was appointed deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council. Vladimir Goussinsky, the president of the Russian Jewish Congress and a well-known entrepreneur, did not make the Forbes list. He is rumored to have amassed a wealth of $1 billion. Berezovsky and Khodorkovsky are not active in Russia’s organized Jewish community. Bill Gates, the founder and chairman of the Microsoft Corp., topped the Forbes list.