By Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The 100 richest Russians have assets worth $248 billion or more than a quarter of Russia's nominal gross domestic product, according to the Russian version of Forbes magazine which hit news-stands on Thursday.
Roman Abramovich, 39, owner of English soccer club Chelsea, stayed at the top with a fortune of $18.3 billion, a gain of $3.6 billion on last year, said the magazine.
Collectively, the fortunes of Russia's richest who are often termed "oligarchs" grew by $107 billion over the past year.
"The rich are becoming richer because the Russian economy is becoming richer," Kirill Vishnepolsky, deputy chief editor of Forbes in Russia, told Reuters.
"The value of many Russian companies has risen faster than the economy over the past year as they were undervalued."
Russia now has 44 dollar billionaires. But their fortunes compare to average wages of $3,600 per year, according to official Russian statistics.
Many ordinary Russians view the oligarchs with a mixture of envy and resentment and are quick to accuse them of having made illicit gains.
Russia's richest amassed massive fortunes and influence in the chaotic privatizations that followed the fall of the Soviet Union.
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