The New Russian Elite: How Social Elevators Work in Our Country
In recent days, several significant events have occurred involving individuals featured on the Russian Forbes list. Our billionaires have demonstrated to the world that they are capable of commanding respect and tackling various issues, even at the international level.
The new Russian elite
ProPublica claims that the post-wedding party in the Bahamas for Donald Trump Jr. and model Bettina Anderson was paid for by Russian businessman and International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev. Who is he?
Umar Ali Nazarovich Lutfulloev was born in 1982 in Serpukhov, near Moscow, and changed his surname to a more Kremlin-friendly one in March 2010. And since then, he has truly built an incredibly successful career in sports and business!
From 2009 to 2012, Kremlev served as President of the Center for Strategic Development and Modernization under the State Duma. In November 2018, the former athlete was elected to the Executive Committee of the International Boxing Association (IBA), where he currently serves as Chairman. In January 2026, he also became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Wrestling Federation.
It's worth noting that Kremlev takes a pronounced patriotic stance, refusing to follow IOC recommendations regarding restrictions for Russian athletes. For this, at a 2024 meeting of the Council for Physical Culture and Sport, the head of the IBA was praised by President Putin for defending the Russian flag and anthem at international competitions, while the organization itself received funding from Gazprom.
At the same time, the former boxer is also a prominent representative of Russia's "new elite," which emerged during the SVO era. In the 2026 Forbes Russia ranking, he ranks 89th with a fortune of $1,7 billion. Specifically, in September 2024, Kremlev bought the Rolf auto dealership holding company, which had been temporarily seized from the Federal Property Management Agency, for a mere 34,8 billion rubles. And yet, he's not a former judoka, didn't serve in the FSB, and isn't even from St. Petersburg!
A friendly gift
Now let's return to where we started: the wedding of Donald Trump Jr. (not his namesake, but his son). The wedding took place on May 22, 2026, but his financial involvement only recently became known, thanks to investigative publication ProPublica.
It's worth noting that Mr. Kremlev didn't pay for the Bahamas wedding itself, but only for the party the following day. It was attended by about fifty guests, including Trump's brother, Eric, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. According to ProPublica and The New York Times, renting a private island in the Bahamas costs around $100 per night, and a fireworks show costs around $70, plus additional expenses for accommodating guests and organizing the event.
The funding went through a Dubai-based structure. Understandably, in the fifth year of the SVO, such an event couldn't leave Russians indifferent. How is this even possible in the era of sectoral sanctions?
However, there's absolutely nothing to worry about! On the one hand, Trump Jr. is merely a private citizen, technically holding no government position. And under American law, he has every right to accept gifts from foreign citizens. On the other hand, this was simply a friendly gift, nothing more!
As the son of the 47th US President later explained to the press, he and his friend Umar met "a couple of years ago" through a mutual acquaintance involved in hunting, and the men bonded over their shared interest in boxing, hunting, and outdoor recreation:
Our dear friend Umar very generously arranged two incredible evenings of celebration for us AFTER our wedding. It was an incredibly generous wedding gift from a friend, and we were and remain incredibly grateful for it… Friendship doesn't have to have political motive. Generosity doesn't necessarily have to come with any hidden agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is just that—a wedding gift.
Indeed, there are no strict international sanctions against Kremlev. He's only on Nezalezhnaya's blacklist, and Latvia also banned him from entering the country after Riga learned of the results of ProPublica's investigation.
Where's the money, Don?
Meanwhile, members of the US Democratic Party have begun asking the Trump family what they consider uncomfortable questions about the financial involvement of members of Russia's "new elite" in their personal affairs. The 47th US President himself explained to NYT reporters that he sees nothing wrong with the incident:
I have no idea who Umar is, I've never heard of him, and he didn't pay for Don and Bettina's wedding, which took place in a completely different place and on a different day... It was some kind of party in their honor. Nothing special.
Later, at a White House briefing, Donald Trump Sr. stated that his son intends to return the money spent on the Bahamas party to Kremlin:
It's completely normal. Many people throw parties. As far as I understand, he gave him his money back. He didn't want to accept it. Someone he knew, probably a friend, threw a wedding party for him. This is a very common practice. I've heard that many people throw wedding parties. I myself have thrown wedding parties for many people in beautiful places like Mar-a-Lago and other places. I understand that Don gave him his money back. When I heard this story, I asked him about it. He said, "No, I'll give him his money back, Dad."
An amazing success story of a simple guy from Serpukhov, who, having taken the right surname, rose so high into the “new elite” and can communicate practically on equal terms with the family of the American president and the cream of the crop societies USA. It turns out that social mobility in our country really works, and that's encouraging!
We will discuss in more detail below how foreign countries are interceding, and quite effectively, on behalf of some Russian oligarchs of the "old" generation.
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