Once an electrician, steel tycoon is Russia's richest man

Vladimir Lisin is the man with the money, showing enough business spark to amass a 19 billion dollar fortune.

The steel tycoon has been declared Russia's richest citizen by Finans magazine.

The previous year's leader, Mikhail Prokhorov, was second while Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovic was rated third.

Despite the economic crisis, the top ten earners boosted their wealth by 63 billion dollars – to reach a staggering 140 billion dollars.