Yuri Shefler Net Worth

Yuri Shefler has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion, according to Forbes World's Billionaires List 2026, Yuri Shefler profile (figures as of Forbes World's Billionaires List 2026). That is down from a peak of $2.6 billion.

Yuri Shefler is a Russian businessman known for building SPI Group, an international alcohol company. After leaving the Soviet Army in 1987, he moved into business and later ran a major Moscow shopping mall and Vnukovo Airlines. His best-known brand is Stolichnaya vodka. Over time, SPI Group grew into a large drinks business that produced and sold alcohol under 380 brands in 170 countries, making alcohol the main source of the fortune tracked by Forbes.

A key step came in 1997, when Shefler bought Stolichnaya from state-owned VVO Soyuzplodoimport for $285,000. That brand became the name most closely tied to his business career. Forbes says his wealth comes from alcohol, and his companies expanded beyond vodka. In 2021, he split the business into Stoli Group, which makes Stolichnaya, and Amber Beverage Group, which makes other spirits and owns major drinks assets in the Baltics and tequila brands.

How Yuri Shefler built his fortune

Shefler made his money by building and reshaping alcohol businesses. Forbes says he established SPI Group, which produced and sold drinks under 380 brands in 170 countries. Stolichnaya became the most recognized name in that lineup, but the business was broader than that brand. SPI Group also owned alcohol operations tied to tequila, wine, and other spirits, giving the company a wide footprint across different parts of the drinks market.

In 2021, Shefler divided the alcohol business into separate companies. Stoli Group kept Stolichnaya vodka, while Amber Beverage Group focused on other spirits. Forbes notes that Amber Beverage Group owns Latvijas balzams, the largest producer of alcoholic beverages in the Baltics. It also owns Amber Production Tequila, with KAH Tequila, Rooster Rojo Tequila and Cenote. That setup shows how his wealth was built across brands, production, and distribution, not just around Stolichnaya.

Forbes net worth over time

Forbes valued Shefler at $1.6 billion in 2019 and again at $1.6 billion in 2020. The estimate then rose to $2.6 billion in 2021, the highest figure in the years listed here. In 2022, Forbes put his fortune at $1.5 billion. Those changes came during a period when his alcohol business was being reorganized, with Stoli Group and Amber Beverage Group operating as separate companies.

After that drop, Forbes estimated his wealth at $1.6 billion in 2023 and $1.6 billion in 2024. The latest published figure is $1.1 billion on the Forbes World's Billionaires List 2026, matching the 2025 estimate. Across those years, the core story stayed the same: his money remained tied to alcohol, especially the SPI network of brands, the Stoli business, and Amber Beverage Group's production and spirits holdings.