Tepper vs Potanin

Appaloosa Management and Nornickel.

The differences

Forbes puts Vladimir Potanin about $1.2B ahead of David Tepper.Forbes figures from 17 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
David Tepper: founded it. Vladimir Potanin: built it up.
David Tepper is about 4 years older than Vladimir Potanin.
Vladimir Potanin has signed the Giving Pledge; David Tepper has not.
David Tepper is from United States; Vladimir Potanin is from Russia.

Put someone else on either side

Tepper

Potanin

Net worth, Forbes: $28.5BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $29.7BForbes, 17 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $28BBloomberg, 16 Oct 2026; $21.8BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 80Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 76Real-Time list, 17 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Founded itLeft Goldman Sachs, where he headed the junk-bond desk, to found Appaloosa Management in 1993; Built it upFounded Interros in 1990; acquired a stake in Norilsk Nickel during Russia's privatization in the 1990s and has run it since 2012
Main source: His own capital in Appaloosa's hedge funds and the Carolina PanthersBloomberg: Appaloosa hedge funds $10.8 billion, Carolina Panthers $8.07 billion, cash $9.18 billion; Norilsk Nickel stockBloomberg: most of his wealth is his Norilsk Nickel stake; he also has stakes in T-Technologies and Yandex
Companies: Appaloosa Management, Carolina PanthersAppaloosa Management: President and founder; Carolina Panthers: Owner and chairman; Nornickel, InterrosNornickel: President and chairman of the management board; Interros: Founder and president
Biggest stake: Carolina Panthers100% owned; Interros100% owned

Born: 1957East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States; 3 Jan 1961Moscow, Russia
Country: United StatesLives in Palm Beach, Florida, United States; Russia
Education: Graduate degreeEconomics degree, University of Pittsburgh (1978); master's in industrial administration, Carnegie Mellon University (1982); Not statedFaculty of Economics, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), 1983
Parents: Son of Harry Tepper, an accountant, and Roberta Tepper, a schoolteacher; Father was a trade diplomat and mother a doctor

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Signed in 2013
Foundation: The Tepper FoundationFounded in 1996 as the David A. Tepper Charitable Foundation; led by his daughter Randi; Vladimir Potanin FoundationGrant-making foundation created in 1999
Lifetime giving: Not stated; Not stated

Role now: Runs the companyPresident of Appaloosa Management; owner and chairman of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC; Runs the companyPresident and chairman of the management board of Nornickel; president of Interros
Successor: Not stated; Not stated
Public office: Member, Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets, Federal Reserve Bank of New York2014; First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia1996-1997
Legal record: None found; 2022: UK governmentDesignated under UK sanctions with a full asset freeze (UK Sanctions List reference RUS1466).