10 Cypriots on Forbes 2024 billionaire list

Ten people from Cyprus made it to the Forbes World’s Billionaires List for 2024, from industries ranging from shipping to real estate and software, as well as easyJet’s Haji-Ioannou family.

At 88th place, making him the top-ranking Cypriot on the list, is Vinod Adani with a net worth of $23 billion. Aged 75, Adani is named as residing in Dubai but has Cypriot citizenship.

The Adani group, which started out in commodities trading, has interests in ports, airports, power generation and transmission, green energy, among others.

John Fredriksen, active in the shipping industry is 79 and lives in London. His empire includes oil tankers, dry bulkers, LNG carriers and deepwater drilling rigs and has a net worth of $16.9bn, according to Forbes.

Other Cypriot passport holders named on the list are Yakir Gabay, Sergey Dmitriev, Valentin Kipyatkov, Igor Makarov and Vladimir Krupchak.

From the Haji-Ioannou family, Forbes list of billionaires named Polys, Stelios and Clelia.

Polys Haji-Ioannou ranks in 2287th place with a net worth of $1.3bn. Forbes said much of his wealth derives from a large stake in easyJet, the discount airline founded by his younger brother, Stelios.

Polys continues the family’s shipping legacy with his own 14-tanker fleet.

He has also invested heavily in both commercial and residential real estate, particularly in Cyprus, Greece, Monaco and London.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou was listed in 2410th place with a $1.2bn net worth. The son of a Greek Cypriot shipping magnate, Hajiioannou founded the budget airline easyJet in 1995 after leaving his father’s company.

Stelios owns an estimated 4 per cent of the airline; his siblings Clelia and Polys both have large stakes as well, Forbes said.

Additionally, Clelia Haji-Ioannou owns approximately $240 million worth of real estate across Europe, including properties in London, Monaco and Greece. She ranks at 2545th place with a net value of $1.1bn.

She also has a gallery outside of Athens featuring artwork by Picasso, Warhol and Dali.