Forbes Kazakhstan has published its updated list of the country’s 75 richest entrepreneurs, and it once again features several figures closely associated with Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. According to the ranking, the combined wealth of the 75 richest businesspeople rose to $60.84 billion from $57.5 billion a year earlier, while Kazakhstan’s contingent of dollar billionaires in the global Forbes list expanded for the first time in five years.
One of the year’s most notable shifts was the rise of Bulat Utemuratov, whose fortune increased by $1.7 billion, from $3.7 billion to $5.4 billion, lifting him into a tie for third place. Utemuratov, who served for years as Nazarbayev’s chief of presidential affairs, remains one of the most prominent businessmen publicly linked to the former president.
His son, Alidar Utemuratov, also kept his place in the ranking, coming in 57th with an estimated $186 million. Forbes Kazakhstan lists his source of wealth as telecommunications and IT.
Also tied for third are Timur Kulibayev and Dinara Kulibayeva, with fortunes of $5.4 billion each. The couple, Nazarbayev’s son-in-law and middle daughter, are longstanding controlling shareholders of Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s largest lender by assets.
Ranked 20th is Dariga Nazarbayeva, Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter, with an estimated fortune of $550 million. Her son, Nurali Aliyev, is 41st on the list with $280 million, and both remain associated with family business interests in the media and telecommunications sectors.
Another notable figure is Galimzhan Yessenov, ranked 19th with $564 million. In the new ranking, he stands above Dariga Nazarbayeva and is one of the wealthiest businessmen still seen as connected, directly or indirectly, to the broader Nazarbayev network.
Kenes Rakishev, ranked 27th with $402 million, also remains on the list. Over the years, he has frequently been described in media reports and investigations as part of the former president’s wider inner circle.
Taken together, the assets of Dariga Nazarbayeva, Nurali Aliyev, Timur Kulibayev, Dinara Kulibayeva, Bulat Utemuratov, Alidar Utemuratov and Galimzhan Yessenov amount to more than $17 billion. Based on the Forbes Kazakhstan ranking, that is well over a quarter of the total wealth of all 75 people on the list.
