Russian Moguls Rule!

Russian Moguls were the recent topic of a very interesting conversation.

I was talking to a friend and fellow mogul-in-the-making, Russ T. We were discussing the Forbes Billionaire Mogul list and how, amazingly, Moscow has the highest number of Billionaire Moguls for any city.

Russian Moguls Rule!

Moscow has 74 Billionaire Moguls with an average net worth of $5.9 billion!

So our question was this:

"How the hell does a communist regime produce so many damned Billionaire Moguls?"

Russian Mogul? ... Russian Mogul? ...

I'm sorry to keep repeating it. But that term seems so completely incompatible with the concept of communism.

I guess I'm way too naïve!

Anyway, knowing absolutely nothing about Russian economics, I just took a wild guess at how this happened. Although I think my theory is somewhere in the ballpark of a logical thought.

At least it seemed somewhat logical at the time!

Basically I said this about Russian Moguls:

"Even though Russia is a communist nation, it still must do business globally in order to keep its economy churning along. And, since government ownership and operation of assets is mostly cumbersome and inefficient (i.e., governments seem mostly, uh, bozo-like and incompetent when it comes to running businesses), the government allows certain entrepreneurially-inclined individuals to start, run and control businesses."

"These people then become the Russian Moguls in question. The government allows these Russian Moguls to become wealthy because it serves the greater good of the country. Of course, I'm sure the government extracts its own payment from the Russian Moguls in the form of kickbacks, bribes and other less-than-ethical practices."

Now, I really have no idea what the hell I'm talking about. Again, I'm just guessing.

But Russ T. thought it made some sense. And he talked about how an interesting hybrid communist-capitalist economy is clearly operating in Russia and China too.

After all, are those China factories that so many American firms outsource to all owned by the Chinese government?

Micky K. - Former Russian Mogul

On the other hand, even if you're a Russian Mogul, ya just don't wanna piss off the government, like Mikhail Khodorkovsky did with Putin.

Micky K. used to run Yukos Oil, the big Russian oil company. But around 2005 he was arrested and thrown into prison (in Siberia!) for an assortment of mis-dealings. He says it was actually because he backed Putin's opposition.

Gee ... Ya Think!

So my fellow moguls-in-making, there appears to be a slight downside to being a Russian Mogul after all.

It's Putin's way ... or The Siberian Highway!