On February 24, 2022, the whole world heard of terrible news — Russia’s war against Ukraine. Early in the morning, the Ukrainians woke up to explosions and rockets flying over their houses. Each person reacted differently to this situation, someone fled, someone sat in shock and could not move, someone went to protect his country, but how did the invasion respond to the richest man of Ukraine, who was born in Donetsk? Many would think that a businessman would leave the country at the first danger, but this is a different situation. Back in 2014, Rinat Akhmetov made it clear that he is completely for Ukraine and is not going to leave. He reiterated his words in 2022 when the war broke out — “I am in Ukraine and I am not going to leave the country. I share the same feelings with all Ukrainians: I am sincerely waiting for the victory of Ukraine in this war. And we will start to rebuild the country to make it happier and more prosperous. On my end, I will spare no expense or effort to achieve this goal.”
At the same time, the billionaire not only stayed in Ukraine, but he also used all his powers and capabilities to help people who were forced to leave their homes, losing absolutely everything. Moreover, Rinat said that in Mariupol people are forced to drown in the snow in order to get water, and cooking food is possible only at the stake because the constant bombardment by the Russian army was deprived of electricity. If we talk about hell on Earth — it is possible to talk about Mariupol, a 6-year-old girl who died under the rubble from dehydration. “I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Mariupol is in a complete blockade in 2022, that people are forced to hide in the workshops of our production plants. It is impossible to hear or talk about it without tears in your eyes that people melt snow and drink meltwater to stay alive. That a 6-year-old girl died of dehydration under rubble at the center of Europe” — said a businessman in his interview https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2022/03/10/ukraines-richest-man-rinat-akhmetov-says-hes-doing-everything-he-can-to-help-his-country/
It is impossible not to mention the losses of the billionaire, the war did not bypass his capital. Rinat Akhmetov had a fortune of 14 billion dollars and after two weeks of fighting, he lost half of his fortune, which fell to 6 billion dollars. Moreover, some of its assets were located in the occupied territories – real estate, dozens of gas stations, and the home stadium of Shakhtar Donetsk, one of Ukraine’s most successful soccer teams—became virtually worthless overnight after the territories were seized.
