Richest Businesspeople’s Life Trajectories In Putin’s Russia

Nowadays, there is a research gap in the academic literature about the life trajectories of Russian businesspeople and the factors influencing their changes. Therefore, in this paper there are defined 3 ideal types of Russian richest businesspeople, based on their connectedness to the state, political activity and personal characteristics. Thus, the study focuses on the life trajectories of Russian businesspeople and, by means of statistical analysis, determines the factors, which affect whether a businessman deviates towards involvement in politics or not. Overall, this work shows that businesspeople from strategic sectors are more likely to be involved in politics, while businessmen from non-strategic sectors such as communications are more likely to keep equidistance from the state. In addition, male businessmen, and those who were not born in Moscow or Saint Petersburg, as well as businessmen doing federal business, tend to get involved in politics and forge political connections. Finally, we provide an analysis of how the choices and political activity of Russia's richest businessmen can affect the dynamics of their life trajectories.