The British edition Sunday Times published a list of the richest inhabitants of Great Britain. For the eighth year the first place of the list of the richest people of Great Britain is occupied by the Indian steelmaking magnate Lakshmi Mittal with a fortune in 12,7 billion pounds sterling. The Russian Alisher Usmanov - other businessman making money on metallurgy and being the shareholder of football club "Arsenal" - approached the Indian businessman closely with the fortune in 12,3 billion pounds sterling. In 2012 Bloomberg agency called him the richest person of Russia. Roman Abramovich occupies the third place with 9,5 billion pounds, in spite of reduction of his fortune by 800 million pounds in 2011.
Ten richest people of Britain, according to Sunday Times
Lakshmi Mittal - £12,7 billion.
Alisher Usmanov - £12,3 billion.
Roman Abramovich - £9,5 billion.
Shri and Gopi Hinduja - £8,6 billion.
Leonard Blavatnik - £7,58 billion.
Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli - £7,4 billion.
Duke of Westminster Gerald Grosvenor - £7,35 billion.
David and Simon Reuben - £7,08 billion.
John Fridriksen and his family - £6,6 billion.
Galen and George Weston and their family - £5,9 billion.
The fact itself is not very remarkable if not to take into consideration the following: the general condition of a thousand richest people of Britain in spring of 2012 reached 414 billion pounds sterling (673,5 billion US dollars), it’s by 4,7% more than last year. For the first time this figure exceeded pre-crisis indicator of 2008. That is property of the "British" oligarchs grew, though the richest "British British" - the Duke of Westminster -occupies modest 7th place in a rating.
That is the British Empire, as well as at times when the sun was shining brightly always there, continues getting enriched at the expense of colonies though formally they seized to be considered as that. Not casually the first line of rating is occupied by "the British" of the Indian origin, while brilliants in his crown - are far not only Indian, but also the Kazakh and Ukrainian enterprises. We are not talking about "British" Usmanov and Abramovich. That is the national wealth of the United Kingdom includes money deduced from the territory of the former USSR.
Certainly, there’s nothing strange that in globalization era (imperialism according to Lenin) money and their owners freely move where it is more convenient to them.
But why they move to Great Britain instead of, say, same India where the climate is better and life is cheaper? Where it is possible to live as rajah and not to follow any laws?
Obviously there’s something in Britain which outweighs all obvious advantages of the peninsula of Hindustan?
There’s no talking about Russia where the weather is cold and "men are malicious and waves with axes"... Though it would seem that 20 years of especially democratic, market transformations should make Russia paradise for business and their representatives. If to read Putin's articles written by his assistants before elections, it seems that everything is as it’s written - paradise for business. The greatest fortunes almost immediately appear in Russia... Then for some reason they urgently run to Britain.
After all one can’t say that misters Abramovich and Usmanov are somehow especially oppressed by "a bloody mode". On the contrary, Roman Arkadyevich for so many years was the governor of happy Chukotka and now is registered as the head of the Chukchi parliament. He could occupy every post he wants – of the deputy, the senator, the Minister of Defence and agriculture... Alisher Burkhanovich - the entrusted owner of the major information and propaganda resources of the power – publishing house "Kommersant", a number of TV channels, portal mail.ru... It would seem there’s no other one living so cheerfully, so freely in Russia. Well, no.
All who got superfluous rouble run from happy country where 64% of voters voted for the third term of the national leader. It’s even strange. All are happy and still run away. What is the most unpleasant is that they run not with their money but in fact with ours, national. Even tips that they leave in restaurants go to the British, not our waiters.
Anatoly Baranov, editor-in-chief of FORUM.mks
