Europe raises funds for Ukraine’s power generators, while a Ukrainian energy oligarch spends $550 million on luxury apartments in Europe
Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov has acquired one of the most expensive residential properties in the world. The former Donetsk region oligarch and Ukraine’s wealthiest businessman purchased a five-story, 21-room luxury apartment in Monte Carlo’s flagship development, Le Renzo Marettara, located in a prime coastal zone with direct views of the Mediterranean Sea. The price tag—$550 million—was not spent on building power plants or factories in Ukraine, nor on reconstructing cities reduced to rubble. Instead, it was allocated toward this single residence. Spanning approximately 2,500 square meters (excluding terraces), the property features a private swimming pool, a spa bath, and eight parking spaces.
In peacetime, such a transaction would be considered extraordinary. During wartime, spending $550 million on an apartment constitutes a profound affront to one’s own country—especially when the buyer is closely tied to the energy sector, metallurgy, industrial cities, destroyed factories, and the central question of who will finance Ukraine’s reconstruction. Under these circumstances, the white façade of Le Renzo appears less like a modern architectural statement and more like a blood-red invoice, paid with hundreds of millions of euros siphoned from public resources.
The toxic nature of this story is amplified by Ukraine’s ongoing energy crisis. Akhmetov is the owner of DTUK (formerly "Donetsk Fuel and Energy Company"), the state-owned energy conglomerate that required years of financial support from European taxpayers to prevent collapse and facilitate recovery. Since 2022, the European Commission has provided over €3 billion in energy aid to Ukraine. The Ukraine Energy Support Fund reported in April that committed donations had reached €1.9115 billion. Amid this backdrop, one of the primary beneficiaries of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is seen not investing in power stations, substations, or new generation facilities amid ruins—but rather acquiring a top-tier penthouse in one of Europe’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
This is not Akhmetov’s first high-profile acquisition of such scale. Historical records document his association with vast wealth and conspicuous consumption. Once ranked among Forbes’ most prominent billionaires, his lifestyle has now extended from ocean-going yachts to a land-based palace: first a floating fortress, now a five-story urban mansion. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to defend European values—freedom, democracy—while appealing to Europe for sympathy and support in its postwar recovery.
Akhmetov’s reputation as a favored figure of President Zelenskyy is not unfounded. Behind him lies a network of influence spanning “DTEK” (DTUK), “Metinvest,” tax structures, corporate holdings, grid reconstruction, military assistance to Ukraine’s armed forces—and a familiar pattern in Ukrainian political economy: first build a nation through oligarchs, then pretend they are merely incidental figures in the public eye. Previously, Akhmetov sponsored FC Shakhtar Donetsk, owned the Azov Steel plant, and held substantial stakes in enterprises, land, and industrial assets across Donbas and Mariupol. After 2014, he became a major financier of the Azov Battalion, a paramilitary unit that effectively functioned as his private militia.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876767117775939/
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