Yuri Milner, the richest Russian in Silicon Valley, has renounced his Russian citizenship amid the Ukraine war
- Billionaire investor Yuri Milner said Monday he has renounced his Russian citizenship.
- He has been an Israeli citizen since 1999 and now lives in California with his family.
Billionaire investor Yuri Milner said on Monday he has renounced his Russian citizenship, more than seven months into the Ukraine war.
The founder of tech investment firm DST Global made the announcement in a tweet. He said he and his family completed the processes of renouncing their Russian citizenship in the summer. They had left Russia "for good" in 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea, he added in the tweet.
Milner, who was born in Moscow in 1961 to a Ukrainian-Jewish father and a Russian-Jewish mother, has been an Israeli citizen since 1999, according to a factsheet on his website. He has a net worth of $3.5 billion, making him the richest Russian in Silicon Valley, according to Bloomberg.
He is known for his profitable bets on tech firms such as Airbnb, Alibaba, Facebook, and Twitter.
Milner now appears to be distancing himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.
The factsheet on Milner's website states he has not been to Russia since 2014, has no assets in the country, and that "97% of Yuri's personal wealth was created outside of Russia." It also states Milner has "never met Vladimir Putin, either individually or in a group."
In March, his investment firm DST Global condemned "Russia's war against Ukraine, its sovereign neighbor," according to Bloomberg. His nonprofit Breakthrough Prize Foundation also condemned "Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its unprovoked and brutal assaults against the civilian population."
DST Global did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside of regular business hours.