Russia-born billionaire Timur Turlov has become a household name in Kazakhstan and holds a prestigious status in European society. One of the top entrepreneurs across Europe, Turlov has carved out a reputation for his excellent marketing skills and for selling stocks to retail investors. However, less known are the facts that he idolises current US President Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk. So who is Turlov and why is he in the headlines?

Advertisment

Timur Turlov – All you need to know

Born in Russia, 37-year-old Turlov made a fortune tied to the stock market and made headlines all over the world. He is the current CEO of Freedom Holding Corp, a leading retail brokerage and investment bank in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Turlov first broke into the Forbes list of World’s Richest Personalities in 2021 when he was ranked 1517 with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.

However, that number has significantly grown as he now ranks (at the time of writing in April 2025) 605th on the list of the World’s Richest Personalities with an estimated price tag of $5.8 billion. He has made a big stride financially through several business endorsements in the mineral and banking sectors.

Advertisment

As of 2021, Turlov owns 72% of Freedom Holding, which is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It had some 200,000 customers and revenues of $122 million in the year through March 2020.

Turlov idolises Trump, Musk

An avid fan of current United States President Donald Trump, the Kazakhstan national has a cutout of Trump in Freedom’s headquarters. As reported by Bloomberg in 2017, he also idolised Joe Biden as well, the 46th President of the United States. It was later revealed that Turlov added Elon Musk’s cutout, adding to his list of idols.

Advertisment

Apart from his businessman side, Turlov also serves as the President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.