Based on Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the fortune of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister of Georgia and the honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, increased by $700 million, or 10.6%, over the past year. The 68-year-old Georgian billionaire now ranks 369th among the 500 richest people in the world.
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Bloomberg estimates Ivanishvili's wealth at $7.3 billion, a record high for him. The publication, citing an anonymous source, reports that his art collection alone is worth $1 billion.
Bloomberg notes that Ivanishvili amassed his fortune in post-Soviet Russia during the 1990s, selling most of his assets between 2003 and 2006, and the remainder before becoming Georgia's Prime Minister in October 2012.
Forbes, however, values Ivanishvili's assets at $4.9 billion, placing him 635th on their list of the world's billionaires.
Bidzina Ivanishvili served as Prime Minister and Chairman of the Georgian Dream party from 2012 to 2013. On November 20, 2013, he resigned from both positions and announced his retirement from politics. On May 11, 2018, prior to the presidential elections, Ivanishvili was re-elected as chairman of Georgian Dream.
On January 11, 2021, he declared that he had permanently left politics and had "completely stepped down from the reins of management."
Despite his public statements about retiring from politics, Ivanishvili has been accused of informal governance and is believed to have influenced key decisions within the party, including the selection and approval of prime ministers, ministers, and other high-ranking officials.
On December 30, 2023, Ivanishvili "returned" to politics and became the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream.
