Mordashov vs Schmidt

Severstal and Alphabet (Google).

The differences

Forbes puts Eric Schmidt about $1.1B ahead of Alexey Mordashov.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Eric Schmidt is about 10 years older than Alexey Mordashov.
Alexey Mordashov is from Russia; Eric Schmidt is from United States.
Eric Schmidt has held a public or government advisory role; Alexey Mordashov has none on record.

Put someone else on either side

Mordashov

Schmidt

Net worth, Forbes: $36.9BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $38BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $27.6BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026; $58.9BBloomberg, 11 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 61Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 58Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Built it upJoined the Cherepovets steel mill as an economist in 1988, became finance director in 1992 and CEO in 1996; Bloomberg says he built his majority stake through two investment funds that bought workers' shares after the 1993 privatisation; Built it upNot a founder: joined Google as board chairman in March 2001, then CEO from 2001 to 2011; his fortune is mostly the Alphabet stock he acquired there
Main source: Severstal stockBloomberg: the majority of his fortune comes from his 77% stake in Severstal; it also values Nordgold, Power Machines and Lenta; Alphabet stockBloomberg: 'The majority of Eric Schmidt's fortune is derived from a 1% economic interest in Alphabet'
Companies: SeverstalSeverstal: Chairman of the board; Alphabet (Google), Relativity SpaceAlphabet (Google): None; former CEO and chairman; Relativity Space: CEO and executive chairman
Biggest stake: Severstal77% owned; Alphabet (Google)1% owned

Born: 26 Sep 1965Cherepovets, Russia (then the Soviet Union); 27 Apr 1955Washington, D.C., United States
Country: RussiaLives in Moscow, Russia; United StatesLives in Atherton, California, United States
Education: Graduate degreeLeningrad Engineering and Economic Institute (1988); MBA, Northumbria University (2006); Graduate degreeBS electrical engineering, Princeton (1976); MS (1979) and PhD (1982) in computer science, University of California, Berkeley
Parents: Both parents were steelworkers at the Cherepovets mill; Grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, where his father Wilson Schmidt was a professor of economics at Virginia Tech

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Way Home Charitable FoundationSet up by Severstal in 2005; Severstal says he personally oversees its programme; Schmidt Family FoundationWith his wife Wendy he also founded Schmidt Ocean Institute, Schmidt Futures (2017) and Schmidt Sciences (2024)
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $2BForbes, date not stated. Forbes: Wendy Schmidt 'has helped direct more than $2 billion in philanthropy alongside her husband Eric'; a joint figure, undated

Role now: Chair of the boardChairman of Severstal and of Severgroup; Runs the companyCEO and executive chairman of Relativity Space
Successor: Alexander Shevelev is CEO of SeverstalNo family member is named in a Severstal executive role in the cited sources; Larry Page took back the Google CEO job from him in 2011No Schmidt family member is named in a Google executive role
Public office: None found; Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; Chairman, Defense Innovation Board (US Department of Defense); Chairman, US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence; Member, NASA National Space Council User Advisory Group2009-2017; 2016-2020; three years, including 2020; two years, including 2020
Legal record: 2022: Council of the EU; 2022: US Treasury (OFAC); 2023: EU General CourtListed under EU restrictive measures concerning Russia in 2022; the EU listing describes him as a Russian businessperson with close links to the Russian government. Designated by OFAC on 2 June 2022 under Executive Order 14024 (Russia). The General Court dismissed his challenge to the EU restrictive measures (Case T-248/22) on 20 September 2023 and ordered him to pay the costs.; None found