In a world of perpetual change and unknowns, there will always be a few constants to rely on. For example, dogs will always be the greatest species on earth. The mitochondria will always be the powerhouse of the cell. Bill Belichick will always wear tattered sweatshirts. Vladimir Putin will always have sketchy dealings.
That came as no exception this week, after revelations surfaced that Russian billionaire banker Kirill Shamalov was allegedly “stripped of half his wealth” after breaking up with Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova, better known as Putin’s daughter.
Bloomberg: Putin’s youngest daughter, Katerina Tikhonova divorced from her billionarie husband Kirill Shamalov. After that Shamalov lost 20% of Sibur shares https://t.co/cV87BFLCAg pic.twitter.com/OIM50uAw4c
— AKHBOR.COM (@AkhborCom) January 26, 2018
The two were married in 2013 but recently divorced. Since then, Shamalov has been linked with Russian model and socialite Zhanna Volkova who currently lives in London. Photos of the model can be viewed here.
Now I don’t want to speculate but a few things strike me as pretty odd here. First, Putin apparently didn’t want anyone to know about his daughter. He only has two kids and most parents are pretty proud of their children so that probably should’ve been a hint to Shamalov that he was messing with the wrong family. Anyways, Shamalov is the co-owner of Rossiya Bank, and when he married Putin’s daughter he became even richer. He was reportedly gifted a 4.3% stake in gas company and some of his savings were put in a trust overseen by one of Putin’s relatives.
But when the couple divorced, Shamalov’s net worth went from $1.3 Billion last year to only about $8 million now. Moscow claims that the sudden decline in his wealth is probably a result of “divorce payments,” or interest on loans.
It’s a pretty bold move to marry Putin’s daughter. You’ve got to know what you’re getting into before you’re walking down the aisle. But it’s an even bigger move to divorce her and then be publicly photographed frolicking around with some other Russian babe in London.
If you somehow find yourself in the position where you may have wronged Putin’s daughter, your first plan of attack should be to get the hell out of Russia, acquire a whole new identity and live out the rest of your days in a remote farm somewhere in the middle of Argentina. Marry yourself a local who doesn’t speak your language. Raise up some cattle, perhaps a few goats. Goat cheese flies off the shelves these days. People go wild for it.
My point here is, this guy is lucky he still has $800 million and a beating heart. Putin is probably one of the top 10 guys in the world to never cross. Just take it from this anonymous source who, when asked to comment on the divorce, simply said, “He must be thanking God and all his saints that he is alive and free.”
Yikes.
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