Oct 11, 2022 - World

Billionaire investor Yuri Milner renounces Russian citizenship

Rebecca Falconer

Yuri Milner demonstrates a new chip on stage at a One World Observatory event on April 12, 2016 in New York City. — Yuri Milner at a 2016 event in New York City. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize Foundation

Yuri Milner, a Moscow-born billionaire venture capitalist who's invested in companies including Facebook and Twitter, announced Monday he's renounced his Russian citizenship.

Driving the news: "My family and I left Russia for good in 2014, after the Russian annexation of Crimea," tweeted Milner, who became an Israeli citizen in 1999. "And this summer, we officially completed the process of renouncing our Russian citizenship."

The big picture: Milner made the announcement hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered scores of missile strikes in Kyiv and other key Ukrainian cities.

Background: Milner founded internet investment company DST Global, which states on its website that 97% of his personal wealth "was created outside of Russia" and stresses that he "has never met" Putin.

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Billionaire investor Yuri Milner renounces Russian citizenship

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