Moscow now city of billionaires?

Moscow -- Moscow, once the bastion of worldwide communism, may now have more billionaires than any other city on Earth, a business publication says.

Forbes magazine reported in March that Moscow has passed New York, with 74 billionaires -- and that's dollars not rubles --claiming the Russian capital as their home. The New York magazine credits the fall in the value of the dollar for the rise of Russian billionaires.

In the top spot on Forbes' list of the 100 richest Russians is Oleg Deripaska, the head of holding company Basic Element. His wealth is estimated at $28.6 billion, up $11.8 billion in the past year.

Alexei Mordashov, owner of the steel manufacturing company Severstal, ranks second with $24.5 billion, double his net worth in 2007. Roman Abramovich, who owns the Chelsea soccer team in London, is in third place with $24.3 billion.

The growth at the top in the former Soviet Union has been so dramatic that 10 Russian billionaires did not make the cut for the "100 richest" list, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.