In 2004, Tatyana Kim spent $700 to create a website for Wildberries, an e-commerce business she started retired of her Moscow flat while connected maternity leave.
Today, Wildberries is considered the Russian balanced of Amazon, a booming online retailer that Forbes estimated earned $9 cardinal successful gross successful 2024, and Kim is Russia's richest woman, pinch an estimated nett worthy of $8.1 billion.
Yet, contempt her immense wealth, Kim, 50, keeps a debased floor plan and apparently lives modestly.
Amid Russia's warfare pinch Ukraine, Kim's warehouses person travel nether occurrence from Ukrainian strikes targeting the unit facilities.
Here's really Kim makes and spends her fortune.
Tatyana Kim is worthy an estimated $8.1 billion, Forbes reported, making her Russia's richest woman.
Kim was calved successful 1975, and grew up successful the Moscow region. She studied astatine the Kolomna State Pedagogical Institute, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
She and her ex-husband, IT entrepreneur Vladislav Bakalchuk, stock 7 children. Their divorcement was finalized successful 2025, aft 22 years of marriage.
She founded the e-commerce retailer Wildberries successful 2004 while connected maternity time off from her occupation arsenic an English teacher.
Wildberries started arsenic a mini task reselling apparel from Otto, a German unit company. Kim told Bloomberg successful 2018 that she utilized to make deliveries herself successful the company's early days.
"At first, I did everything myself, collecting the equipment and taking them to customers connected the different broadside of Moscow by subway aliases bus," she said.
As the business grew, Kim began hiring transportation workers and renting abstraction to shop much inventory.
Russian bodybuilder Sergei Anufriev was an early backer of Wildberries successful 2006, Bloomberg reported.
In 2020, The Bell reported that Kim's then-husband earned $5 cardinal from trading banal successful an net provider, raising questions astir Kim's position arsenic a self-made billionaire. Wildberries representatives told the outlet that the money was not progressive successful starting Wildberries.
In 2024, Wildberries earned an estimated $9 cardinal successful revenue.
By 2026, Wildberries has much than 1 cardinal sellers, according to genitor institution RWB. Brands waste a scope of products including clothes, electronics, and housewares connected the platform.
The retailer launched successful Europe successful 2021, expanding into Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, The Moscow Times reported.
More recently, it has expanded further, pinch operations successful markets including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, and the UAE, among others.
Following a 2024 merger, Kim's business empire has continued to evolve.
In 2024, Wildberries merged pinch outdoor advertizing institution Russ Group to create a associated company, RWB, aliases Wildberries & Russ.
Today, Kim owns 100% of Wildberries LLC, which holds 65% of the merged RWB.
In December 2025, RWB bought Russian cosmetics concatenation Rive Gauche.
In July 2026, it acquired a controlling liking successful online drugstore Eapteka arsenic portion of RWB's scheme to turn its wellness section and to summation entree to wellness products crossed Russia, Forbes reported.
When Wildberries and Russ announced their merger, their plans besides included processing an replacement world costs system.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, known arsenic SWIFT, disconnected 7 Russian banks successful 2022 pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine. In a associated connection condemning the invasion, members of the European Commission wrote that the prohibition would "ensure that these banks are disconnected from the world financial strategy and harm their expertise to run globally."
In 2024, Bloomberg reported that Kim would activity pinch Russ Group connected processing a caller integer trading level arsenic an replacement to SWIFT. The task was to beryllium overseen by Maxim Oreshkin, Russia's erstwhile curate of economical development, who was handpicked for the task by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2026, RWB besides announced a business pinch VTB, Russia's second-biggest bank. VTB agreed to bargain an first 5% liking successful Wildberries' bank, WB Bank, Reuters reported. The companies said they would harvester VTB's banking infrastructure pinch RWB's technology.
Despite her billionaire status, Kim keeps a debased profile.
In a 2018 question and reply pinch AFP, Kim described herself arsenic "introverted."
Unlike different billionaires who unrecorded successful sprawling mansions, Kim rents alternatively of owning a home, Bloomberg antecedently reported.
Ukrainian strikes person destroyed one-third of Wildberries storage abstraction crossed Russia, The New York Times reported.
At slightest 23 Wildberries accommodation person been deed by Ukrainian drone strikes, sidesplitting 9 labor and resulting successful a nonaccomplishment of $5.9 cardinal successful goods, The New York Times reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that strikes against Russian warehouses target logistics hubs "involved successful providing the Russian service pinch drone components, navigation instrumentality and different gear," BBC reported.
Kim branded the strikes "terrorist attacks" successful a video connection released successful July.
Editor's note: This communicative was first published successful June 2024 and astir precocious updated successful August 2026.
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