| In March, when Berezovsky, 57, won his libel case against Forbes magazine for an article titled "The Godfather of the Kremlin?", he wanted to let the world know of his innocence. So he took out full-page advertisements in the Financial Times and The New York Times announcing he was not a murderer or a mafia boss. However, he didn't dispute any figures about his wealth, having appeared in Forbes with a valuation of £2 billion. Berezovsky's rise coincided with communism's fall. Allied to Boris Yeltsin, in the space of five years Berezovsky became known as the richest man in Russia, his assets including the country's largest car dealership, Logovaz, the Sibneft oil company, and Aeroflot, the Russian airline, as well as substantial aluminium concerns. It was not a trouble-free run: in 1994 his Mercedes was bombed, killing his chauffeur and wounding a bodyguard. According to one report Berezovsky spent six months recuperating in a Swiss clinic. In 2000, having used his television station ORT to back Vladimir Putin's run for president, Putin turned on him and, amid allegations of financial fraud, Berezovsky fled the country. His first stop was Cap d'Antibes in the South of France, where he has a 50-acre estate that he reportedly bought for $70m. Three-times married with six children, he now lives in London, reportedly with a model called Marianna, 33 years his junior, and is fighting an extradition case back to Russia on fraud charges. He says the charges are politically motivated. He has had a request for asylum turned down by David Blunkett. Berezovsky reckons he is worth £2 billion, but we are more cautious. And while he continues to live in London, we give Berezovsky refuge in this list.
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