Michel Litvak Net Worth

Michel Litvak has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Michel Litvak profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.3 billion in 2024.

Michel Litvak is a businessman known for building a fortune in commodity logistics and infrastructure. In 1974, while in Belgium, he secured financing for a chain of medical laboratories and also worked as a commodity trader. After moving back to Moscow in 1990, he built a consumer goods trading business between Russia and China. In 1992, he entered the oil railroad business and founded OTEKO, which grew into a major railroad operator tied to energy transport and logistics services.

Over time, Litvak shifted from rail into port and industrial infrastructure. In 2000, he began acquiring land for a deep sea harbor on the Black Sea, and in 2004 OTEKO started building its harbor in Taman. The company opened an energy terminal in 2012 and a dry bulk terminal in 2019. Forbes says his fortune comes from OTEKO, a Moscow-based investor with interests in port and industrial infrastructure in southern Russia. He also founded Bold Films and produced Drive, Nightcrawler, Whiplash, and Shot Caller.

How Michel Litvak makes money

Litvak first made his name as a trader and then as a logistics entrepreneur. In 1991, after the Soviet collapse, he traded consumer goods between Russia and China. In 1992, he moved into the oil railroad business and founded OTEKO. The company became a major railroad operator and pioneered private transportation and logistics outsourcing for Russian energy companies. That business gave him a strong base in commodity logistics before he turned more attention to large infrastructure assets.

His fortune is now tied mainly to OTEKO’s port and industrial projects in southern Russia. In 2000, he started buying land suitable for a deep sea harbor on the Black Sea. In 2004, OTEKO began construction in Taman. The company later opened an energy terminal in 2012 and a dry bulk terminal in 2019. Forbes notes that Litvak sold the railroad business in 2018 and then focused on expanding his port and infrastructure companies, including Black Sea terminal assets.

Forbes net worth timeline

Forbes has tracked big swings in Litvak’s wealth in recent years. Forbes valued him at $1.3 billion in 2024, then $2.5 billion in 2025, and later $1.4 billion in 2026. As of October 20, 2026, Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker also showed $1.4 billion. Across those updates, the same core source stayed in place: OTEKO and its holdings in seaport and industrial infrastructure rather than income from his film work.

The business story behind that estimate centers on a long shift from rail logistics to port assets. Litvak began with cross-border trading in 1991, built OTEKO in 1992, and later developed major infrastructure in Taman. A turning point came in 2018, when he sold the railroad operation and focused on port expansion. Forbes connects his wealth to that later phase, especially OTEKO’s interests in southern Russia and its Black Sea terminal business.