Cabinet Members Declare Their Incomes

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin sold some shares last year in a move that garnered him with the status of the richest Cabinet member.

Responsible for the development of the restive North Caucasus, Khloponin dethroned the previous holder of the rank, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yury Trutnev.

Khloponin earned 484 million rubles ($16.37 million) last year, more than double of Trutnev's 212 million rubles, according to ministerial income statements released Thursday.

Most of Khloponin's wealth came from the sale of shares in Norilsk Nickel, said his spokeswoman Natalia Platonova.

“All I know is that it was a considerable portion of his stake,” she told The Moscow Times. “I don't know whether he has anything left.”

Khloponin served as the company's chief from 1996 to 2001.

The shares of the mining giant last reached their peak in September 2007 before declining again.

“The timing for the sale was good,” said Andrei Lobazov, a metals analyst at Alfa Bank.

The title of the poorest Cabinet member went to Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, who oversees the country's most money-making industry, which includes oil and gas producers. He earned 3.3 million rubles last year.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin found a place close to the bottom of the list with a comparatively meager 3.7 million rubles. Putin reported a bigger income of 5.4 million rubles for 2010.

His spokesman Dmitry Peskov attributed the decline to smaller bonuses, copyright payments and lower income from Putin's bank deposits, Interfax reported. It was unclear from the report what copyright payments he was referring to and whether Putin had spent some money from his bank deposits.

Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin let go some of his real estate last year, including a palatial mansion measuring 1,400 square meters. He also no longer owns a land plot of 5,400 square meters.

Despite the shrinkage of his property, which could imply that he sold it, Sechin made less money than the year before. He reported his earnings to be 3.1 million rubles in 2011, down from 4.2 million rubles in 2010.

When the incomes of the spouses come into play, the Khloponins still reign supreme, although his wife added just 4.8 million rubles to the family treasury.

But the Shuvalovs move into second place. First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov caught flak over a potential conflict of interests recently because of news reports that his wife made lucrative investments jointly with some of the country's top business people. He denied any wrongdoing.

Shuvalov stated that he earned 9.6 million rubles last year, while his wife brought in a much heftier 365 million rubles.

Lyudmila Putina had better luck with bank deposits than her husband, Peskov said. She made 443,000 rubles, or triple the amount of the previous year, because the interest rate on her deposits went up, he said.

Peskov didn't identify the banks.

Sechin's wife, like her husband, no longer has a large land plot registered in her name. Unlike her husband, however, she said her income grew — from zero to 9 million rubles.

Shmatko's wife had no income last year, but said she drives a Porsche Cayenne.

The Khloponins remained the largest landlords in the Cabinet. They hold 24 land plots, one of them in Italy. They also own a house in Italy.

The members of the presidential administration Thursday also reported their incomes for last year. And there, too, Khloponin was at the top.

President Dmitry Medvedev reported an income of 3.4 million rubles, almost unchanged from the previous year.

The State Duma will report the incomes of its deputies by the end of the week.