DISINFO: Zelenskyy’s fortune is worth at least USD 2 billion
SUMMARY
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s fortune is at least as high as USD 2 billion. He profited from flows of western assistance to Ukraine. However, if and when the West shifts blame for Russia’s unavoidable victory over Ukraine on Zelenskyy, he will not necessarily be able to preserve this fortune.
RESPONSE
In addition to attempting to conclude that Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine will be an "unavoidable victory" for Russia, this piece of disinformation aims to tarnish Ukraine and its president with alleged corruption and to frame him as losing the favour of the international community that supports Ukraine’s war efforts. This is part of pro-Kremlin media's efforts to undermine Western support for the country.
Pro-Kremlin media has been trying to portray Ukraine as the "most corrupt country in the world" on numerous occasions in the past, see here; here; and here.
From time to time, ungrounded corruption claims in pro-Kremlin outlets target Zelenskyy’s family members. Read our past disinformation cases alleging that Volodymyr Zelenskyy's wife, Olena Zelenska, spent more than 1 million dollars on jewellery with EU money and that Zelenskyy's mother-in-law uses war money to buy luxury houses.