Billionaires and millionaires of the Baltic sea region: a comparative analysis of national business elites

Abstract

Local business elites make a major contribution to the development of the Baltic region's countries, shaping their present and future. The Baltic business elites are an integral part of the transnational capitalist class - a product of the global economy and the global division of labour. Drawing on a sizeable body of statistics, the author conducts a comparative analysis of the Baltic states' financial elites. The author considers such characteristics of business elites as their number, total wealth, gender composition, average number of children in their families, geographical distribution, global mobility, industry specialization, a tendency towards oligarchy, and others. Germany's business elites are strong and are characterized by considerable wealth, a large number of billionaires and millionaires, strong roots in the German society, a high level of female representation, a relatively even geographical distribution, engagement in industrial production and technology, and a weak tendency towards oligarchy. Yet, Germany has a small proportion of self-made and talented business people. The strong points of Russia's business elite are considerable wealth, relatively young age, and a high proportion of self-made and talented business people. Russia's business elite is limited in number, has weak roots in the society, a low level of female representation, its hyper-cocentration in Moscow, a strong tendency towards oligarchy and specialization in finance and raw materials.