Is Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president a billionaire?

The Ukrainian president, for much of the world, is an admired leader guiding the Ukrainian resistance in the fight against Russia. However, he is not without his detractors, and some of them claim that the president of Ukraine has a fortune of suspicious origin.

Reportedly, Zelensky has $1.4 billion. A fortune larger than that of Will Smith, Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle put together. Are we to believe he made that estate as a comedian from the poorest nation in Europe? Garland Nixon, an American radio debater and occasional talk show host on Fox News, posed this quesiton on Twitter.

It is clear that the war is not taking place only in Ukraine, but that the propaganda guerrilla warfare is also taking place on social media.

The dissemination of the millionaire figure of Zelensky'ss fortune seeks to undermine the popularity of the president of Ukraine and to make him out as corrupt. But what is the truth behind Zelensky's economic reality?

The answer has come from the medium that is perhaps the most reliable source when it comes to fortunes: Forbes. According to the publication's data, Volodimyr Zelenski is not a billionaire nor does he have 1,400 million dollars.

In fact, the list of billionaires in Ukraine, as Forbes points out, has been reduced to only seven in the country due to the Russian invasion, and Volodymyr Zelensky is not one of them, nor has he ever been.

Yes, it was the former Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, a well-known chocolate tycoon, who is one of the billionaires who has fallen the most on the Forbes list in recent months.

Poroshenko's net worth was cut in half to about $700 million after a 75% drop in the value of his chocolate company, Roshen. The war in Ukraine forced him to close two factories in Kyiv and Boryspil.

In the case of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian edition of Forbes estimates that he has a fortune of 20 million dollars. Most of his assests come from his holding of 25% of Kvartal 95, a comedy show production company.

This production company is responsible for the well-known political comedy 'Servant of the People.' The show stars Volodymyr Zelensky himself, who plays a high school teacher who is elected president of the country.

Netflix ran the series between 2017 and 2021 but in March 2022 it reacquired the rights and it is estimated that the agreement was closed at 30 million dollars per year.

According to Forbes Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky's share in Kvartal 95 is worth approximately $11 million.

Of course, Volodymyr Zelensky transferred his shares to the rest of the partners when he was elected president and everything indicates that he will recover them when he leaves office, whenever that may be.

As far as wealth is concerned, the $1.4 billion hoax also spoke of five luxury yachts, three private planes and more than $60 million in shares in companies like Tesla, Meta or Saudi Aramco.

Forbes confirms that the information is uncertain and, if Zelensky does have shares in said companies, it is difficult for them to access the figures.

As for properties, Volodymyr Zelensky does have a home in one of the most expensive areas of downtown Kyiv, although it is a modest home if we compare it with the standards of luxury that, for example, the Russian oligarchs and the truly wealthy of the world exhibit.

In fact, Forbes values ​​​​Volodymyr Zelensky's real estate possession at 4 million dollars, divided into: two houses owned by him, two co-owned houses, a commercial space and five parking spaces.

To complete the financial analysis of Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, Forbes affirms that they both have a bank account that has about two million dollars in cash and government bonds.

Be that as it may, right now Zelensky's concerns are not limited to his personal finances. At the moment, the Ukrainian president's only convern is the war which threatens both his own and his country's survival.