Bulat Utemuratov Net Worth

Bulat Utemuratov has an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Bulat Utemuratov profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $3.4 billion in 2019.

Bulat Utemuratov is a Kazakhstani investor with interests in mining, banking, hotels, and mobile operators. After Kazakhstan became independent in 1991, he was sent to Vienna to look for economic opportunities and helped arrange the country’s first line of credit with Bank Creditanstalt. He later served as ambassador to Switzerland in 1996 and returned to economic policy work before building his private business interests.

His wealth grew through a series of large deals. In 1995, he helped found ATF Bank and became its controlling shareholder by 2007. That year, he and minority shareholders sold the bank to UniCredit in one of the biggest banking transactions in the region. He also made successful telecom investments in Kar-Tel and Sky Mobile, bought 88% of Forte Bank for $400 million in 2014, and developed hotel and mining holdings through Verny Capital.

How Bulat Utemuratov built his fortune

Utemuratov’s money comes from several sectors instead of a single company. Forbes says his portfolio includes mining, banking, and hotels, along with holdings in mobile phone companies such as Kar-Tel and Kyrgyzstan’s Sky Mobile. He built a major banking position through ATF Bank, then expanded into Forte Bank. Through Verny Capital, he also backed Ritz-Carlton hotel projects in Astana, Vienna, and Moscow, giving him exposure to real estate and hospitality.

Some of his biggest gains came from exits. One major deal was the 2007 sale of ATF Bank to UniCredit for a reported $2.2 billion. Another was the Kazzinc transaction, where he led the 2012 sale to Glencore for $1.4 billion in cash and shares, then sold the Glencore stake in 2021. In 2025, he also sold the Ritz-Carlton Vienna hotel, RG Gold in Kazakhstan, the Burger King franchise in Kazakhstan, and Sky Mobile LLP in Kyrgyzstan.

Forbes net worth and key money moves

Forbes estimated Utemuratov’s wealth at $3.4 billion in 2019. By 2024, that estimate was $2.7 billion. It then moved up to $3.7 billion in 2025 and reached $5.4 billion on Forbes’ real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026. Over that span, his business mix still centered on banking, mining, hotels, and telecom, with value shaped by both long-held stakes and asset sales.

The timeline of his business deals helps explain why Forbes tracked such changes. He built ATF Bank in 1995, completed a major sale in 2007, and later deepened his banking position with Forte Bank in 2014. He also stayed active in mining through Kazzinc and RG Gold, and in telecom through Kar-Tel and Sky Mobile. By 2026, Forbes put his fortune at $5.4 billion after years of portfolio shifts across those sectors.