This year, eight Kazakhs were included in the Forbes list, among which two are newcomers. Most of the billionaires from Kazakhstan, who previously had representation in the lists, increased their assets, including Dinara and Timur Kulibayev. This was reported by Azattyk Asia.
NEWCOMERS TO THE LIST — WHO ARE THEY?
Two new names from Kazakhstan appeared in the Forbes billionaires list published on March 10. They are Nurlan Smagulov, the owner of Astana Group, and Aydin Rakhimbaev, a shareholder of BI Group. Forbes estimated Smagulov's wealth at $1.3 billion, while Rakhimbaev's at $1.1 billion.
Nurlan Smagulov is known as the founder and owner of Astana Group, which includes factories for the production of passenger and commercial vehicles, as well as a network of dealerships. In addition, he owns the MEGA shopping and entertainment centers in Almaty and Astana.
Last year, he opened the Almaty Museum of Arts, a contemporary art museum in Almaty.
Smagulov started his business many years ago. In 2014, when he presented a shopping center project to the capital's Nursultan Nazarbayev, he suggested dropping the word "MEGA" from the name. Smagulov replied with a smile that life had taught him this.
Aydin Rakhimbaev manages the construction holding BI Group, which implements development projects both in Kazakhstan and abroad, including Uzbekistan, the USA, and the UAE.
Forbes calls BI Group the largest private company in the real estate market of Kazakhstan.
Aydin Rakhimbaev (center), founder of BI Group, at a meeting of the president with business representatives. Astana, February 7, 2025
The construction sector of the country has seen significant development over the past five years thanks to government initiatives allowing citizens to use their pension savings to purchase housing and the launch of preferential mortgages.
BILLIONAIRES FROM THE BANKING SECTOR
Vyacheslav Kim, co-founder and co-owner of the fintech company Kaspi, remains the richest Kazakh in the Forbes list, with a fortune of $7.8 billion, which is $700 million more than the previous year. He ranks 477th.
Kim acquired 100% of the shares of First Heartland Jusan Bank, which is now called Alatau City Bank. Kim is also the beneficiary of the Magnum Cash & Carry supermarket chain.
The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, meets with the co-founders of Kaspi, Vyacheslav Kim and Mikhail Lomtadze. Almaty, January 25, 2024
Mikhail Lomtadze, Kim's business partner and chairman of the board of Kaspi, also made it to the list of billionaires in Kazakhstan last year. This year, his fortune amounts to $6 billion (an increase of $100 million).
Dinara and Timur Kulibayev, the daughter and son-in-law of Nursultan Nazarbayev, control the largest commercial bank in the country, Halyk, and increased their wealth to $10.8 billion, despite pressure from the state. Over the year, the couple's fortune increased by $800 million.
Kulibayev lost some positions after "Bloody January," losing posts in business structures and assets, but his wealth continues to grow.
Timur and Dinara Kulibayev, son-in-law and daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev
Bulat Utemuratov, former chief of staff to the president under Nazarbayev, significantly improved his position in the Forbes ranking, increasing his wealth to $5.4 billion and rising from 989th to 780th place.
Utemuratov became the owner of ForteBank, which was purchased last year from Home Credit Bank, increasing the bank's market capitalization.
He also controls assets in telecommunications, hospitality, and education, including Narxoz University and private Haileybury schools in Almaty and Astana.
The President of the Tennis Federation of Kazakhstan, Bulat Utemuratov, presents an award to Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic after the tournament in Astana. October 2022
Vladimir Kim, another figure associated with Nursultan Nazarbayev, has assets worth $5.9 billion, increasing his wealth by $200 million over the year. He is a shareholder of KAZ Minerals Ltd., which manages large copper mines in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Journalists report that he still controls a copper plant in Chukotka, despite a change of ownership following sanctions imposed by the West.
Kim also owns Bank RBK.
THE ONLY DECREASING
Timur Turlov's wealth decreased by $600 million — to $5.2 billion. While he significantly increased his assets in 2025, his situation has now worsened.
Turlov, originally from Moscow, became a citizen of Kazakhstan in 2022. He manages Freedom Holding Corp., which includes the brokerage company "Freedom Finance" and other financial and insurance assets.
Timur Turlov
After sanctions were imposed against Russian financial structures, his bank faced accusations of helping Russians circumvent restrictions. Turlov denied these accusations, stating that his bank does not serve clients from Russia remotely. Last year, an investigation was published in Kazakh media about how his bank issued cards in Russia without the physical presence of recipients, which was illegal. Soon the investigation became unavailable.
Turlov also found himself at the center of a scandal in 2025 when his company sued KazTAG after a publication about alleged fraud. The case is still under investigation, and the chief editor of the agency is under house arrest.
GLOBAL TRENDS
Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia whose citizens made it to the Forbes list. Among the billionaires is also Alisher Usmanov, a businessman of Uzbek origin living in Russia, with a fortune of $14.5 billion.
Forbes reports a record number of billionaires this year — 3,428 people, which is $4 trillion more than in 2025, thanks to the growth of artificial intelligence and favorable economic policies.
The most billionaires are in the USA — 989, followed by China (610) and India (229).
Elon Musk remains the richest person with a fortune of $839 billion, followed by Larry Page ($257 billion) and Sergey Brin ($237 billion). In fourth place is Jeff Bezos ($224 billion), and in fifth is Mark Zuckerberg ($222 billion).
The entry Kazakhstan presented eight of its representatives in the list of the richest people in the world according to Forbes first appeared in K-News.
