With the eyes of the world fixed squarely on Vladimir Putin, it is interesting to explore his personal life in more detail. To be fair, very little is known about the Russian leader, and his private life is somewhat of a mystery. That being said, we do know that he divorced his first wife, Lyudmila Shkrebneva. It is unclear how much money Lyudmila received in the divorce settlement, but we can assume that she became a millionaire at the very least after the marriage ended. However, calculations are quite difficult because no one knows the full extent of Putin’s wealth.
Putin’s First Marriage
In 1983, Vladimir Putin married Lyudmila Shkrebneva. At this point in his life, Putin was a KGB agent working in the Second Chief Directorate. One year after his marriage, he relocated to Moscow and began further training. Over the next few years, he would begin a slow but steady rise to power that continued even after the Soviet Union fell. By 1999, he had become a deputy prime minister – and he was well on his way to accumulating a considerable fortune. Later that year, Putin became the acting President of Russia when Yeltsin resigned, and in 2000 he served his first presidential term. From that point onward, he has been the de-facto leader of Russia. During this period, he had at least two daughters with his wife. However, the pair separated in 2008 – and in 2014 their divorce was finalized.
How Much Did Lyudmila Receive?
Under Russian law, Lyudmila is apparently entitled to half of Putin’s salary, which could amount to around $50,000 per year. However, she may have also received certain assets as part of the property division process.
In order to determine the true extent of the divorce settlement, we must determine the true extent of Putin’s wealth – and that is no easy feat. In 2007, Putin’s official wealth was reported to be just $280,000 in funds plus an apartment in St. Petersburg. But this seems extremely low – especially when you consider the fact that Putin regularly wears wrist watches that are apparently worth six times his annual salary. There are rumors that Putin’s true wealth is in the billions due to stakes in various Russian companies. The CIA once concluded that his net worth is probably around $40 billion. The Panama Papers leak also suggested that Putin owned offshore companies with a net worth of at least $2 billion.
A Master at Concealing Assets
There is no doubt that Putin is a master at concealing assets. This would’ve made the property division process incredibly difficult for Lyudmila, and it is likely that she would not have been able to track down the various bank accounts and other assets owned by Putin. In other words, the possibility of her walking away from the marriage with a fair settlement even remotely approaching 50% is incredibly slim. If the CIA cannot even figure out how much money this man is worth, his own wife probably did not have much success, either.
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