Billionaire warlord's rise to power before Putin 'betrayal'

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been killed, enjoyed a lavish life among Moscow's elite that was a long way from his shady past as an ex-con turned hotdog seller. 

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin once enjoyed a lavish life among Moscow's elite that was a long way from his shady past as an ex-con turned hotdog seller. 

The founder of the Wagner group, who was known as Putin's chef,  was killed when a business jet crashed over Russia.

He was forced into exile into Belarus in June after a failed mutiny against his former close friend Vladimir Putin and was said to be staying in a windowless budget hotel.

But after a life of corruption and networking in the Kremlin’s corridors of power, Prigozhin was rolling in wealth and appeared to be cashed up.

Yevgeny Prigozhin when he was Vladimir Putin’s personal chef and favoured crony.

The ruthless billionaire led a flashy lifestyle with all the trimmings, including a private jet and a massive superyacht.

In true Russian oligarch style, his riches were splashed over Instagram by his adult children, who before the coup crisis posted images of the St Vitamin, their $8.6-million superyacht.

The Hawker 800 jet owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin in an image posted by his daughter Polina on Instagram. Picture: Instagram/polinaprigozhina

The luxury vessel, which Prigozhin and his family regularly holidayed on, came with a Versace-designed interior and has six bedrooms, staff quarters and an impressive terrace.

Prigozhin also had a palatial estate believed to worth $14.3 million and a $5.7 million Hawker 800 private plane at the service of his globetrotting family, according to The Sun.

Prigozhin and his glamorous wife, Lyubov Valentinovna Prigozhina, have three children Polina, Veronika, and Pavel.

The superyacht St Vitamin, owned by exiled Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin

Lyubov, a qualified pharmacist, runs a chain of chocolate shops and a network of luxurious spas.

The billionaire’s family played “various roles” within the tycoon’s businesses, the Financial Times reports. His wife and two eldest children have been sanctioned by the European Union and the US due to Prigozhin’s involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It is unclear whether the family’s luxury assets were seized in the aftermath of the attempted coup.

Yevgeny Prigozhin speaking inside the headquarters of the Russian southern military district during the attempted mutiny. Picture: AFP

Prigozhin’s wealth was inflated due to the Wagner Group’s plundering of diamonds, gold, oil, and gas from countries in which they operate, according to reports.

His life of riches is a long way from the shady beginnings of the former hotdog seller who once sold his wares from a stand in a St Petersburg flea market after serving time in a penal colony.

Prigozhin enjoyed a rapid rise to power among the Moscow elite during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The warlord was one of Putin’s most trusted cronies and ran a lucrative restaurant and catering empire that supplied official Kremlin functions.

With his control of the Wagner mercenary group, which he founded in 2014, he was an influential player during Russia’s war in Ukraine before turning on former confidant Putin.

Originally published as Billionaire warlord's rise to power before Putin 'betrayal'