After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the lives of many Russian oligarchs close to Putin have noticeably deteriorated.
A personal assistant to several Russian oligarchs who live on the gated estate of St. George's Hill in Weybridge, Surrey, spoke to the Mirror about how billionaires are suffering from sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over The war that the Russian Federation started in Ukraine life.
At St. George's Hill Manor, where the mansions are worth over £20 million, they can't pay for private jet flights, vacation travel and can't even pay for a taxi ride as their credit cards are frozen. Many of them asked their staff to pay for a taxi.
«I have heard them cry because they can no longer board a private jet, book a vacation, or even get an Uber. But empathy is hard. They don't care that people are dying in Ukraine», — source says.
Another Surrey couple was stranded in Dubai when their first class flight was cancelled. Among the oligarchs living there is oil tycoon and close friend of Putin, 54-year-old Oleg Deripaska, head of a mining and energy company.
An informant who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals said: « people don't care about suffering in Ukraine».
He also told how a Russian woman burst into tears because she couldn't pay for her order — electrical fittings commissioned for her £10m St. George mansion.
«They only care about themselves and how sanctions are starting to affect their champagne lifestyle. Shortly before the war, a rich Russian family I knew in Surrey paid £24,000 to fly live crab and some black caviar from Moscow in a private jet for a party. But things are changing now, and it's nice to see them having to adjust to their new place in the world», — says a secret source.
He says that Russian billionaires call him five times a day and ask him to help them bypass sanctions.
«They ask if they can use my address when issuing new cards to avoid sanctions. I just hang up. I can't talk to these people anymore — they need to understand what's going on and what their leader is doing».