Roman Abramovich net worth sky rockets as Chelsea impact explained after latest change

Three years ago, 11 games into the 2021/22 Premier League season, Chelsea were top of the table. Thomas Tuchel was manager and Roman Abramovich was owner. Romelu Lukaku was yet to send the club into pre-meltdown before eventual total meltdown followed.

A lot can happen in three years, then. Chelsea, the reigning champions of Europe and six weeks away from conquering the planet at the Club World Cup, haven't won a trophy since. Almost the entire squad has changed in the meantime - not Reece James and Ben Chilwell, but almost everything about them and their place within the whole thing - as well as near-enough anything else on a micro or macro level.

The paint at Cobham is most likely different now to what it was, the staff in the media team, tasked with cutting the grass, or in a wider sense those actually buying players, all changed. Abramovich? Long gone.

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To put numbers on it, his enormous net worth - generated from being ahead of the curve in post-Soviet Union state oil boom - has fluctuated in a similar manner to his former club's own fortunes. Abramovich's (monetary, in this case) fortune, took a massive hit in March 2022 and hasn't come close to recovering.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have started to move towards being a recognisable Premier League team again, fighting for European places rather than mid-table mediocrity. Abramovich, meanwhile, has dropped from mainstream and footballing coverage.

Much like his near-£13billion estimated value (at today's conversion rates) plummeted in the escalation of war in Eastern Europe, Chelsea dipped themselves. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent UK-imposed sanctions on Abramovich - as well as others with ties to Vladimir Putin, the Russian government, or aids in the war effort, something Abramovich himself denies - his estimated value went through the floor.

Well, relatively. Bloomberg suggests that almost overnight his value went down by over £2billion. By the end of 2022, it had almost halved, going to £6.9billion, and the slide didn't stop there. In the middle of this, Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea.

Although he had been more removed from the club compared to much of the success-laden 18 years prior, Abramovich was still immensely committed to the London side. He had parked plans to rebuild or redevelop Stamford Bridge but that was not out of lacking ambition or desire - just ask the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly consortium how tricky of an issue it is.

Abramovich didn't cut back his investment into Chelsea, spending vast amounts on transfers and footing the bill. He did, though, see his relationship grow strained in places after Visa problems meant his attendance at games in England became near impossible.

He was very much left with little choice but to sell up when the British government grouped him with others allegedly involved with Putin's war effort, though. Chelsea were unable to generate revenue, sell match tickets, open the club shop, negotiate contracts, and effectively run any form of commercial activity during the period of limbo.

The sale of Chelsea, conducted at breakneck speed, was worth an overall £4.25billion. Abramovich pledged any money sent to him in the transaction towards supporting Ukraine. It is widely reported that, two-and-a-half-years on from the takeover, that money remains locked in a UK account.

Clearlake-Boehly were the winners of a public bidding process for Chelsea. Abramovich wrote off over £1.5billion worth of debt owed to him by Chelsea. Matters did not, and have not, cleared up for Abramovich despite him taking an even more peripheral worldwide lifestyle since. His estimated net worth continued to drop until August 2023, when it hit its lowest point on record to Bloomberg, of £5.63billion.

12 months on and things have begun to improve. Although still some way from the peak of his riches, as estimated by Forbes, his value now stands at £7.51billion, a significant rise compared to £7.12billion. That is a massive rise, still, from where he was after the sale and at its nadir.

There is still some way to go for it to reach anything close to the heights once established by Abramovich. Growing to that effect may well be almost impossible for the oligarch, these steps will be much appreciated regardless.