It’s a Scary Time to Be Super-Rich in Ukraine.

Public rage against these tycoons helped fuel the protests that toppled Yanukovych. Some, including members of the so-called “family” of the president’s relatives and close associates, could face prison time if they haven’t fled the country in time. Some also could face seizure of their foreign assets under possible European or U.S. sanctions.

Other oligarchs could play an important role in Ukraine’s future—if for no other reason than that they control, by some estimates, more than one-fifth of the country’s gross national product. Take Rinat Akhmetov: Ukraine’s richest man holds an estimated $12.9 billion fortune that includes control of half Ukraine’s steel, coal, and electricity production. “He controls hundreds of thousands of jobs” and is immensely popular in his home region of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, says Matthew Rojansky of the Wilson Center in Washington. “He’s not going anywhere.”

Read More: www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-24/its-a-scary-time-to-be-super-rich-in-ukraine#r=hpt-ls