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Meet The 10 Billionaire Tycoons Who Rule Their Countries' Economies

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From his perch in a 108,000 square-foot mansion carved into the bluffs overlooking Tbilisi, Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili lords over his homeland.

The only billionaire in Georgia, Ivanishvili is worth $5.2 billion, equivalent to 32% of his country’s GDP. He has bankrolled universities, medical clinics, theaters, ski resorts, welfare programs, national parks, political parties and even police forces. He effectively rules Georgia.

Ivanishvili also tops our list for the 10 tycoons with the biggest fortunes relative to their countries’ GDPs. We dug through our billionaires list to find these 10 and disqualified people who were no longer living in their native countries or who built fortunes in city-nations like Hong Kong and Monaco. What we came up with is a list not of the world’s richest people, but instead of those billionaires whose fortunes give them an inordinate amount of power in the often-impoverished countries from which they come.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the top two on our list, Ivanishvili and Lebanon’s Najib Mikati, have both been prime ministers of their countries.

Ivanishvili made his money in Russia but returned home to Georgia in 2003. He initially backed a new Georgian government with as much as $100 million. But by 2008, he had lost faith in the country’s leadership and pulled back his support. He created his own political party and got elected prime minister in 2012. After his party won the presidential elections the next year, Ivanishvili stepped down from his post with supporters firmly in control of the government.

“This is my homeland,” he told Forbes for a 2012 cover story. “Going into politics is good protection.”

Mikati, who with his brother Taha is worth 14% of Lebanon’s GDP, was prime minister twice, for a brief stint in 2005 and again from 2011 through March 2013; he acted as caretaker until February of this year and is still a member of parlaiment.

Not all have political ambitions, yet. But when these individuals dole out their riches, even in small portions, it can have massive effects on their homelands. Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has amassed a $25 billion fortune selling cement, sugar and flour. He recently pledged 5% of it, $1.2 billion, to his Dangote Foundation, which works alongside the Nigerian government to fight poverty in the country, giving $50 to $80 grants to rural women and young people with entrepreneurial ambitions. A $1.2 billion donation can go a long way in a country where 68% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day.

Of course, such highly concentrated wealth amid vast poverty engenders criticism. Carlos Slim, the second richest person in the world and No. 6 on the list, has been called a monopolist and much worse by critics who say he’s amassed his fortune unfairly, despite the fact that he’s already donated at least $4 billion and has pledged $10 billion to help promote education and health, especially in Mexico.

Biggest Personal Fortunes As Percentage Of Countries’ GDPs

1. Bidzina Ivanishvili

Country: Georgia

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 32%

Net worth: $5.2 billion

Source of wealth: Investments

Born into a poor mining family in small-town Georgia, Ivanishvili moved to Russia in his twenties and started a business selling computers. He later opened a bank and snatched up former Soviet factories and mines as they privatized in the 1990s. He returned to Georgia in 2003 and was elected prime minister of the country nine years later. He stepped down the following year with his party solidly in control and now watches over Tbilisi from his fortress home above the Georgian capital.

2. Najib & Taha Mikati

Country: Lebanon

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 14% (6.9% each)

Net worth: $6.2 billion ($3.1 billion each)

Source of wealth: Telecom

Najib Mikati became Lebanon’s second-consecutive billionaire prime minister, replacing Saad Hariri in 2011. Mikati and his brother Taha started a satellite phone company in Lebanon during the war-torn 1970s, when power lines were often down. The Mikatis expanded to Syria and Africa before selling their stake in the telecom company for $5.5 billion in 2006. They are now worth $3.1 billion each. Their combined $6.2 billion fortune is equivalent to 14% of Lebanon’s GDP.

3. Aliko Dangote

Country: Nigeria

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 9%

Net worth: $25 billion

Source of wealth: Cement, sugar, flour

The first African to rank among the world’s richest 25 people, Aliko Dangote dominates Nigerian industry. His Dangote Cement makes up about 30% of the market capitalization of the entire Nigerian Stock Exchange. He also owns the second-largest sugar refinery in the world. In March Dangote pledged $1.2 billion to his Dangote Foundation, which works alongside the Nigerian government to fight poverty in the country.

4. Rinat Akhmetov

Country: Ukraine

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 7%

Net worth: $12.5 billion

Source of wealth: Steel, coal

Rinat Akhmetov has a powerful voice in Ukraine, but he has been hesitant to use it in the midst of his country’s current crisis. A longtime ally of now-deposed President Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s richest man reportedly had a falling out with the president last year and forfeited his position in parliament. He initially stayed neutral as protesters faced off against his old friend. But in early March, he reportedly joined other Ukranian oligarchs in saying he would stand up for his homeland if Russia invaded.

6. Stefan Persson

Country: Sweden

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 6%

Net worth: $34.4 billion

Source of wealth: H&M

The man behind fashion chain H&M keeps getting richer thanks to his company’s surging stock. As his net worth grows, so do his real estate investments outside of native Sweden. Last year Persson bought an 8,700-acre estate in the English countryside.

6. Binod Chaudhary

Country: Nepal

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 6%

Net worth: $1.1 billion

Source of wealth: Diversified

The only billionaire in Nepal, Binod Chaudhary controls the country’s Nabil Bank, owns a hotel chain across Asia and is building more hotels in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. He never went to college but turned his family’s textile business into a diversified global empire.

6. Carlos Slim Helú & family

Country: Mexico

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 6%

Net worth: $72 billion

Source of wealth: Telecom

The richest man in the world from 2010 to 2013, Carlos Slim Helú made his first fortune from Mexico’s largest phone company. But he became one of the world’s richest men by expanding in telecom throughout Latin America. Mexican regulators said he had dominant control of the telecom market and imposed anti-monopoly measures in early March. He now has a net worth of $72 billion with diversified assets in Mexico and some investments in the U.S., including a stake in the New York Times.

6. Suat Gunsel

Country: Cyprus

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 6%

Net worth: $1.2 billion

Source of wealth: Real estate, education

Suat Gunsel owns the largest college in Northern Cyprus, Yakindogu (Near East) University. He also has investments in banks, hospitals, fuel oil and cable companies. He is the fourth-richest Cypriot citizen, but the richer three live in the United Kingdom and hold the bulk of their fortunes offshore.

6. Petr Kellner

Country: Czech Republic

Net worth as percentage of country GDP: 6%

Net worth: $11 billion

Source of wealth: Banking, insurance

Petr Kellner built an improbably large Czech fortune one gamble at a time. He started with an office supply company, took a loan against it and started an investment fund, then bought a controlling stake in an insurance company. He later sold the stake to Italian insurance giant Generali for $3.6 billion. Now he has two major assets: lender Home Credit is worth over $4 billion, and he bought Spanish telecom giant Telefónica’s Czech business for $3.2 billion last year.

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