Mordashov vs Ardoino
Severstal and Tether.
The differences
- Forbes puts Paolo Ardoino about $1.1B ahead of Alexey Mordashov.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
- Alexey Mordashov is about 19 years older than Paolo Ardoino.
- Alexey Mordashov is from Russia; Paolo Ardoino is from Italy.
Put someone else on either side
Side by side
Mordashov
ArdoinoThe money
- Net worth, Forbes
- $36.9BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- $38BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- $27.6BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
- $18.2BBloomberg, 30 Aug 2026
- Forbes rank
- No. 61Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- No. 56Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- Billionaire since
- Not stated
- 2025First on Forbes' annual World's Billionaires list in 2025, at No. 293
Where it came from
- 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 upJoined Bitfinex as a software developer in 2014, became Tether's CTO in 2017 and its CEO in December 2023
- Main source
- Severstal stockBloomberg: the majority of his fortune comes from his 77% stake in Severstal; it also values Nordgold, Power Machines and Lenta
- Stake in Tether HoldingsBloomberg: the bulk of his net worth comes from Tether Holdings; he is also a Bitfinex shareholder
- Companies
- SeverstalSeverstal: Chairman of the board
- Tether, BitfinexTether: CEO; Bitfinex: Chief technology officer
- Biggest stake
- Severstal77% owned
- Tether20% owned
The person
- Born
- 26 Sep 1965Cherepovets, Russia (then the Soviet Union)
- 1984Northern Italy
- Country
- RussiaLives in Moscow, Russia
- Italy
- Education
- Graduate degreeLeningrad Engineering and Economic Institute (1988); MBA, Northumbria University (2006)
- Not statedComputer science, University of Genoa
- Parents
- Both parents were steelworkers at the Cherepovets mill
- Not stated
What they give
- 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
- Not stated
- Lifetime giving
- Not stated
- Not stated
Role and record
- Role now
- Chair of the boardChairman of Severstal and of Severgroup
- Runs the companyCEO of Tether; chief technology officer of Bitfinex
- Successor
- Alexander Shevelev is CEO of SeverstalNo family member is named in a Severstal executive role in the cited sources
- Not stated
- Public office
- None found
- None found
- 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
