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Gennady Timchenko [File photo]

Birthplace: Soviet Union (present-day Armenia)

Notable facts: Timchenko's fortune is estimated to total over $15 billion. An old judo pal of Vladimir Putin, he reportedly founded an elite judo club with the current Russian president in St. Petersburg in 1998.

According to FP, Putin considers Gennady Timchenko, as the tycoon himself puts it, "our main man for China." In May, the billionaire Russian oilman secured a 30-year, $400 billion gas deal with Beijing for Moscow. Negotiated amid the heat of the Ukraine crisis, the blockbuster deal saved Russian energy giant Gazprom from a serious bind since Europe, which was not exactly thrilled with Russian expansionism, had been the company's only major client. The deal was a turning point for bilateral relations: China shored up its energy security while Russia set the stage for a new era of lucrative trade with its eastern neighbor.

But the year wasn't without hazards for Timchenko. In March, he was hit with U.S. sanctions for being a close associate of Putin, and he has sold off stakes in several companies to protect them. (Timchenko reportedly lost $1.8 billion of his roughly $14 billion net worth due to sanctions.) Yet thanks to the gas deal, Timchenko seems to be on Putin's good side, which, in Russia, can make all the difference for a person's future prospects.

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