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> People that have money spread across borders.. trillionaires The only person I could even speculate with that sort of wealth could be Vladimir Putin, if you

> People that have money spread across borders.. trillionaires The only person I could even speculate with that sort of wealth could be Vladimir Putin, if you argued he is a dictator and so controls the entire Russian economy / wealth base.

withdavidli 8y ago
By that argument, there’s another person that’s basically president for life that controls a country with about 10x of Russia’s.
- darawk 8y ago
  While it's true that Xi Jinping (to whom you are presumably referring) is probably dictator of China for life now, he can't quite use the country as his personal piggy bank in the way Putin can.
  - withdavidli 8y ago
    Yep. That’s who I’m referring to. I don’t know each persons’ level of control and utilization of their country’s wealth. But Xi only needs a fraction of his country to match Putin’s. The consolidation of power is what we have to look out for. So the qualifier to your statement is “yet”. Would you have said the same thing of Putin after he returned to being president? How long did it take him to control as much as he has?
    - darawk 8y ago
      Ya, no argument from me. I think Xi is a bad actor on the world stage. A realistic assessment of his 'true wealth' is probably extremely high, comparable to Putin's, you're right.
mbesto 8y ago
Putin is controlled by oligarchs that are much more wealthy than he is. So not only does he not control the Russian economy (the oligarchs he reports to do), but he himself does not have the wealth you're assuming.
- tomashertus 8y ago
  Would you mind to share some sources backing this theory?
- ModernMech 8y ago
  It's the other way around. Oligarchs are oligarchs until Putin says otherwise: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3011021/Exiled-oligarch-Boris-Berezovsky-murdered-hand-Putin-evidence-coup-plot-claims-former-head-security.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3011021/Exiled-oliga...
nwah1 8y ago
The monarchy of saudi arabia may be trillionaires.
epicureanideal 8y ago
Except that the wealth of a country is not typically heritable, so I would say in the best case scenario (for him) he simply has temporary access to the resources of the country, which he seems to be using for the betterment of that country. After he's out of office or dies, his children will get some preferential treatment and their connections and influence may be worth millions, but not billions or trillions. His children will not inherit all the oil fields in Russia. And it's not like children of Western leaders don't gain similar influence and connections.

withdavidli 8y ago

By that argument, there’s another person that’s basically president for life that controls a country with about 10x of Russia’s.

darawk 8y ago
While it's true that Xi Jinping (to whom you are presumably referring) is probably dictator of China for life now, he can't quite use the country as his personal piggy bank in the way Putin can.
- withdavidli 8y ago
  Yep. That’s who I’m referring to. I don’t know each persons’ level of control and utilization of their country’s wealth. But Xi only needs a fraction of his country to match Putin’s. The consolidation of power is what we have to look out for. So the qualifier to your statement is “yet”. Would you have said the same thing of Putin after he returned to being president? How long did it take him to control as much as he has?
  - darawk 8y ago
    Ya, no argument from me. I think Xi is a bad actor on the world stage. A realistic assessment of his 'true wealth' is probably extremely high, comparable to Putin's, you're right.

mbesto 8y ago

Putin is controlled by oligarchs that are much more wealthy than he is. So not only does he not control the Russian economy (the oligarchs he reports to do), but he himself does not have the wealth you're assuming.

tomashertus 8y ago
Would you mind to share some sources backing this theory?
ModernMech 8y ago
It's the other way around. Oligarchs are oligarchs until Putin says otherwise: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3011021/Exiled-oligarch-Boris-Berezovsky-murdered-hand-Putin-evidence-coup-plot-claims-former-head-security.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3011021/Exiled-oliga...

nwah1 8y ago

The monarchy of saudi arabia may be trillionaires.

epicureanideal 8y ago

Except that the wealth of a country is not typically heritable, so I would say in the best case scenario (for him) he simply has temporary access to the resources of the country, which he seems to be using for the betterment of that country. After he's out of office or dies, his children will get some preferential treatment and their connections and influence may be worth millions, but not billions or trillions. His children will not inherit all the oil fields in Russia. And it's not like children of Western leaders don't gain similar influence and connections.