{"id":3418,"date":"2026-08-17T13:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=3418"},"modified":"2026-08-17T13:36:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:36:24","slug":"meet-russias-richest-woman-a-billionaire-whose-e-commerce-company-is-being-targeted-by-ukrainian-drone-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=3418","title":{"rendered":"Meet Russia’s richest woman, a billionaire whose e-commerce company is being targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 2004, Tatyana Kim spent $700 to create a website for Wildberries, an e-commerce business she started out of her Moscow apartment while on maternity leave.<\/p>\n

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Today, Wildberries is considered the Russian equivalent of Amazon, a booming online retailer that Forbes estimated earned $9 billion in revenue in 2024, and Kim is Russia’s richest woman, with an estimated net worth of $8.1 billion.<\/p>\n

Yet, despite her immense wealth, Kim, 50, keeps a low profile and apparently lives modestly.<\/p>\n

Amid Russia’s war with Ukraine, Kim’s warehouses have come under fire from Ukrainian strikes targeting the retail facilities.<\/p>\n

Here’s how Kim makes and spends her fortune.<\/p>\n

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Tatyana Kim is worth an estimated $8.1 billion, Forbes reported, making her Russia’s richest woman.<\/h2>\n
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Kim was born in 1975, and grew up in the Moscow region. She studied at the Kolomna State Pedagogical Institute, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.<\/p>\n

She and her ex-husband, IT entrepreneur Vladislav Bakalchuk, share seven children. Their divorce was finalized in 2025, after 22 years of marriage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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She founded the e-commerce retailer Wildberries in 2004 while on maternity leave from her job as an English teacher.<\/h2>\n
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Wildberries started as a small venture reselling clothes from Otto, a German retail company. Kim told Bloomberg in 2018 that she used to make deliveries herself in the company’s early days.<\/p>\n

“At first, I did everything myself, collecting the goods and taking them to customers on the other side of Moscow by subway or bus,” she said.<\/p>\n

As the business grew, Kim began hiring delivery workers and renting space to store more inventory.<\/p>\n

Russian bodybuilder Sergei Anufriev was an early backer of Wildberries in 2006, Bloomberg reported.<\/p>\n

In 2020, The Bell reported that Kim’s then-husband earned $5 million from selling stock in an internet provider, raising questions about Kim’s status as a self-made billionaire. Wildberries representatives told the outlet that the money was not involved in starting Wildberries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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In 2024, Wildberries earned an estimated $9 billion in revenue.<\/h2>\n
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By 2026, Wildberries has more than 1 million sellers, according to parent company RWB. Brands sell a range of products including clothes, electronics, and housewares on the platform.<\/p>\n

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The retailer launched in Europe in 2021, expanding into Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, The Moscow Times reported.<\/p>\n

More recently, it has expanded further, with operations in markets including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, and the UAE, among others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Following a 2024 merger, Kim’s business empire has continued to evolve.<\/h2>\n
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In 2024, Wildberries merged with outdoor advertising company Russ Group to create a joint company, RWB, or Wildberries & Russ.<\/p>\n

Today, Kim owns 100% of Wildberries LLC, which holds 65% of the merged RWB.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, RWB bought Russian cosmetics chain Rive Gauche.<\/p>\n

In July 2026, it acquired a controlling stake in online pharmacy Eapteka as part of RWB’s plan to grow its health division and to increase access to health products across Russia, Forbes reported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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When Wildberries and Russ announced their merger, their plans also included developing an alternative international payment system.<\/h2>\n
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The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, known as SWIFT, disconnected seven Russian banks in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a joint statement condemning the invasion, members of the European Commission wrote that the ban would “ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally.”<\/p>\n

In 2024, Bloomberg reported that Kim would work with Russ Group on developing a new digital trading platform as an alternative to SWIFT. The project was to be overseen by Maxim Oreshkin, Russia’s former minister of economic development, who was handpicked for the task by Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

In 2026, RWB also announced a partnership with VTB, Russia’s second-biggest bank. VTB agreed to buy an initial 5% stake in Wildberries’ bank, WB Bank, Reuters reported. The companies said they would combine VTB’s banking infrastructure with RWB’s technology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Despite her billionaire status, Kim keeps a low profile.<\/h2>\n
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In a 2018 interview with AFP, Kim described herself as “introverted.”<\/p>\n

Unlike other billionaires who live in sprawling mansions, Kim rents instead of owning a home, Bloomberg previously reported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Ukrainian strikes have destroyed one-third of Wildberries warehouse space across Russia, The New York Times reported.<\/h2>\n
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At least 23 Wildberries facilities have been hit by Ukrainian drone strikes, killing nine employees and resulting in a loss of $5.9 billion in goods, The New York Times reported.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that strikes against Russian warehouses target logistics hubs “involved in providing the Russian army with drone components, navigation equipment and other gear,” BBC reported.<\/p>\n

Kim labeled the strikes “terrorist attacks” in a video message released in July.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: This story was first published in June 2024 and most recently updated in August 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

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