Many of the country’s super-rich made their money in commodities, whose prices have collapsed over the last six months, and now have to pay back colossal debts.

Forbes, in its annual survey of Russia's rich, said that the net worth of Russia's 100 richest people dwindled to just $142 billion, compared with over $520 billion a year earlier.

It said this had set Russia's rich back to the start of the economic boom in 2004, when the net worth of the super rich was $140 billion and the country had just 36 billionaires.

Confirming figures published by Forbes US publication last month, the magazine said financier Mikhail Prokhorov is now Russia's richest man with a fortune of $9.5 billion.

He is closely followed by the owner of Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich with $8.5 billion and Vagit Alekperov, the head of Russia's largest private oil firm Lukoil with $7.8 billion.

Messrs Prokhorov and Abramovich have lost $13.1 billion and $15.8 billion respectively from their fortunes over the last year, Forbes said, but their losses are dwarfed by those of Oleg Deripaska, Russia's richest man in 2008.

Mr Deripaska, the owner of aluminium giant UC Rusal, saw his fortune plummet by an amazing $25.1 billion over the last year and is now ranked only in tenth place on the rich list with $3.5 billion.

“In the 2009 rich list, there is not a single businessman whose fortune has grown over the last year,” Forbes said.

The magazine also noted that the rich who had suffered the least were astute enough to sell businesses before the crisis and convert the proceeds into cash.