- Tatyana Bakarchuk is Russia's richest woman, with an estimated net worth of $7.4 billion.
- She founded Wildberries, an e-commerce retailer that sells a wide range of products and acts as a Russian version of Amazon.
- Bakarchuk is developing a payments platform to bolster Russia's economy amid international sanctions.
In 2004, Tatyana Bakarchuk spent $700 to create a website for Wildberries, an e-commerce business she started in her Moscow apartment while on maternity leave.
Today, Wildberries is considered Russia's version of Amazon, a fast-growing online retailer that is expected to hit $6 billion in revenue in 2023, and Bakarchuk is Russia's richest woman, Bloomberg reports.
But despite her vast wealth, the 48-year-old Bakarchuk appears to keep a low profile and live a frugal life – she reportedly does not own a home, opting to rent.
Here's how Bakalchuk made his fortune and spent it.
She founded e-commerce retailer Wildberries in 2004 while on maternity leave from her job as an English teacher.
Wildberries began as a small venture reselling clothing from German retailer Otto, and Bakalchuk told Bloomberg in 2018 that in the company's early days, he made the deliveries himself.
“At first, I did everything myself, collecting the goods and transporting them by subway and bus to customers on the other side of Moscow,” she said.
As business grew, Bakarchuk began hiring delivery drivers and renting space to store his inventory.
According to Bloomberg, Russian bodybuilder Sergey Anufriev invested in Wildberries in 2006. Bakarchuk owns 99% of the company, while her husband owns 1%.
In 2020, The Bell reported that Vladislav Bakarchuk made $5 million by selling shares in an internet provider, casting doubt on his self-made billionaire status. A Wildberries representative told the paper that the money wasn't used to set up Wildberries.
In 2023, Wildberries is expected to generate revenue of $6 billion and gross merchandise volume of $27.8 billion.
Wildberry plant The company stocks more than 60,000 brands and sells a wide range of products, including clothing, electronics, and home goods, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The retailer launched in Europe in 2021, expanding into Germany, Italy, Spain and France. The Moscow Times report.
Bakarchuk's latest venture is building an alternative payments platform to help bolster the Russian economy amid ongoing international sanctions.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, known as SWIFT, banned seven Russian banks in 2022 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In a joint statement condemning the invasion, members of the European Commission wrote that the bans “will cut these banks off from the international financial system and undermine their ability to operate globally.”
Bloomberg reported in June that Bakarchuk would work with advertising management company Russ Group to develop a new digital trading platform to replace SWIFT. The project would be overseen by Maxim Oreshkin, Russia's former minister of economic development, who was handpicked for the job by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
