Russian Oligarchs Take Manhattan

The story of how a small coterie of fabulously wealthy Russians laundered billions in New York City's luxury condos—and how the Feds are now in pursuit

- By Adam Piore. Photographs by Gluekit, Gary Hershorn and Getty Images

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shone the spotlight on a small coterie of fabulously rich Russians with ties to President Vladimir Putin. Many of these so-called oligarchs amassed great wealth through the privitazation of state assets after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Some played a role in Putin's rise to president in 2000, though he subsequently clipped their influence on politics while allowing them to thrive. They've continued to do so despite the sanctions imposed when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The invasion of Ukraine has triggered condemnation of Putin and made his rich friends pariahs. The U.S., Europe and others have vowed to seize their big bank accounts, fabulously equipped yachts and fantastically overpriced real estate—much of which casts a long shadow over New York City, as NEWSWEEK contributor Adam Piore documents in his book, THE NEW KINGS OF NEW YORK: RENEGADES, MOGULS, GAMBLERS AND THE REMAKING OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS SKYLINE (The Real Deal, May). In this adaptation, he tells how the oligarchs reshaped the city's skyline and how U.S. authorities are in pursuit.

THROUGHOUT THE LATE 2000S AND EARLY 2010S, the growing presence of fabulously wealthy Russian oligarchs in high-end housing markets such as Manhattan, Miami and Los Angeles was the real estate industry's worst-kept secret. Although many eschewed publicity, they weren't hard to spot. They often arrived by private jet and pulled up to luxury buildings around town in cars that cost more than most two-family homes, along with entourages of bodyguards, assistants and traveling maids. They inked purchases so eye-popping that some of them inevitably made the newspapers.