Net worth of Volodymyr Zelenskyy: The entertainer-turned-president of Ukraine

If there’s one man who is winning the internet with his calm composure and class-apart attitude, it’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president was at the White House for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, which ended in an ‘unprecedented disaster’ after Trump, along with his VP, JD Vance, engaged in a ‘shouting match’ all the while ‘berating’ Zelenskyy.
First, it was about Zelenskyy’s outfit (he wore a black sweater – the same color and cut he has donned every time he’s appeared in droopy military fatigues) that was questioned by an American reporter. While Brian Glenn, Chief White House Correspondent at Real America’s Voice, donning a blue suit himself, tried to ‘embarrass’ Zelenskyy by asking him whether he owned a suit or not, the Ukranian president gave it back to him by saying, "I will wear a (suit) costume after this war finishes, yes. Maybe something like yours, yes, maybe something better. I don't know, we will see. Maybe something cheaper. Thank you."
Then, it was Trump and Vance - both ‘ganging up’ against Zelenskyy, accusing the Ukrainian President of "disrespecting" the U.S. The meeting ended as Zelenskyy left the White House abruptly without securing a minerals deal seen as key to a US-brokered truce.
As videos from the ‘meeting’ surfaced on social media, a chunk of netizens, including names like Bernie Sanders, Sawyer Hackett, Brian Krassenstein criticized Trump and Vance for “berating” Zelenskyy, with some even calling the meeting an “embarrassment for the United States” and labeling Trump and Vice President JD Vance as “bullies” for “mocking” Zelenskyy.
Journalist Roland Martin even wrote on X, "Donald Trump is a disgrace. JD Vance is a disgrace. The only person with class today is Zelensky. This was an abomination by these two a**holes.”

As the sensible chunk of the internet touts Zelenskyy as the saner one during the meeting and the press conference, let’s take a closer look at the Ukrainian president.

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019, most notably during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022.

Born in 1978, to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. He obtained a degree in law from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics. However, Zelenskyy never practised law and pursued a career in comedy and entertainment.
He created the production company Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and TV shows, including the TV series Servant of the People, in which Zelenskyy played a fictional Ukrainian president. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. A political party with the same name as the TV show was created in March 2018 by employees of Kvartal 95.


Zelenskyy announced his candidacy in the 2019 presidential election on the evening of 31 December 2018, alongside the New Year's Eve address of then-president Petro Poroshenko on the TV channel 1+1. A political outsider, he had already become one of the frontrunners in opinion polls for the election months before he formally declared his candidacy. He won the election with 73.23% of the vote in the second round, defeating Poroshenko in the biggest landslide in the history of Ukrainian presidential elections. His leadership was tested when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and he refused to leave Kyiv, inspiring Ukrainians with his resilience and defiance. As President, he focused on anti-corruption reforms, economic growth, and strengthening Ukraine’s independence.

According to a Forbes Middle East report, despite social media reports claiming he’s a billionaire (Russian misinformation campaigns made inflated claims that portrayed him as a billionaire with assets exceeding $1 billion), Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t come close to making Forbes’ global wealth rankings.
Back in 2022, a meme made quite a stir on the internet, claiming without evidence that the Ukrainian president was worth $1.4 billion – “more than Will Smith, Chris Rock, and Dave Chapelle combined.”
While the insinuation of a certain level of corruption being involved was clear, Forbes refuted the very claim.
According to Forbes’ 36th annual World’s Billionaires List, there were only seven left in the country (the Russian invasion has hit Ukraine’s billionaires hard), and Zelensky was not one of them (nor is the former president and chocolate magnate Petro Poroshenko, who dropped from the rankings this year).
As per Forbes, unlike his predecessor, Zelensky never was a billionaire. In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, he was reportedly worth roughly $20 million at most.


Zelenskyy’s main asset consists of an estimated 25% stake in Kvartal 95, a group of companies that produce humorous shows, which he transferred to his partners after being elected president, though he’ll likely regain his shares after leaving office. Kvartal 95 produced and owns the Servant of the People series, a popular political comedy starring Zelensky as a Ukrainian high school teacher who is elected president. Netflix, which previously streamed the show between 2017 and 2021, snapped up the rights again in March. With estimated revenues of $30 million annually, Forbes Ukraine values Zelensky’s stake at $11 million.
Zelenskyy owned a flat in one of Ukraine’s most expensive apartment buildings in the center of Kyiv. However, it was relatively modest by Western standards.
As per Forbes’ estimate, Zelensky’s entire real estate portfolio is worth $4 million, including two more wholly owned apartments, two that he co-owned, a single commercial property, and five parking spaces.
Zelenskyy’s wife Olena Zelenska shared a bank account that held roughly $2 million in cash and government bonds. Their other assets, consisting of two cars and some jewelry, were worth no more than $1 million.

Zelenskyy was named Time’s Person of the Year for 2022.
He has frequently visited frontline and newly liberated areas and has regularly appeared unshaven and wearing a dark-colored, military-style shirt instead of a suit.
Zelenskyy's term was originally scheduled to end in May 2024, but the ongoing Russian invasion and the resulting ongoing martial law prevented the regularly scheduled presidential election from being conducted. He is expected to remain president for the duration of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Due to this extension of his term, Zelenskyy is the second-longest serving president in Ukrainian history, after Kuchma.

Meanwhile, on Monday, President Donald Trump ordered a 'pause' on US military aid to Ukraine after a tense Oval Office meeting, aiming to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Russia. "The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," a White House official said anonymously.