Milan Popović Net Worth: How to Estimate and Verify

The most widely cited estimate for Milan Popović's net worth as of 2026 is approximately $23 million, based on aggregated online signals. But that number needs context: there are multiple notable people named Milan Popović, the most financially significant of whom is a Serbian-born businessman known in regional media as the "copper king" for his work in the Russian copper and infrastructure sector. If that's the Milan Popović you're researching, the $23 million figure is a reasonable starting point, though the real picture is likely more complex given his offshore holding structures and Russian business interests.

First, which Milan Popović are we talking about?

The name Milan Popović is common enough in the Balkans that several notable individuals share it. Wikipedia alone distinguishes at least two: a general entry for Milan Popović and a separate page for Milan Popović the handball player. Before trusting any net worth figure, it's worth confirming you have the right person.

The Milan Popović most relevant to wealth research on this site is the Serbian businessman, sometimes described as a former close associate of political figures in Serbia and a prominent figure in the Russian copper and energy infrastructure market. Media profiles describe him as having started his career as a taxi driver in Switzerland in the late 1980s before building the ABS Group, a holding company with operating companies in Russia. He became publicly known in Serbia around 2014 when he expressed interest in acquiring a majority stake in RTB Bor, one of the largest copper mining operations in Europe, through a vehicle called Ruska bakarna kompanija (Russian Copper Company). OCCRP reporting later placed him in coverage of controversial offshore holdings linked to Serbian political figures. That combination of Serbian origins, Russian business interests, and media scrutiny makes him the subject of most "Milan Popović net worth" searches originating from this region. Those Milan Popović net worth searches typically refer to the Serbian businessman tied to Russian copper and offshore holdings, rather than the handball player with the same name.

If you're looking for the handball player or another person with this name, the financial data discussed below won't apply to them. Always cross-check profession, country of operation, and any business affiliations before using any estimate.

What "net worth" actually means here

Net worth is total assets minus total liabilities. For a private businessman like Milan Popović, that means adding up the estimated value of all business stakes, real estate, cash, and investments, then subtracting any known debts or obligations. The result is an estimate, not a verified figure. Unlike publicly traded companies, private businesses don't file audited balance sheets with public regulators in most jurisdictions, so researchers rely on proxy signals: reported deal sizes, property registry data, corporate filings in jurisdictions that require disclosure, and media reports of major transactions.

For someone with offshore holding structures, like the ABS Group setup described by PwC in the Paradise Papers and reported by OCCRP, the picture gets murkier. When operating companies in Russia are consolidated into Cypriot holding companies, or owned through dedicated Cypriot vehicles, the true beneficial ownership value is difficult to trace from public records alone. That structural opacity is one reason estimates for businesspeople in this category tend to carry wide uncertainty ranges.

The estimated net worth range and what drives it

The most cited figure for 2026 is $23 million, with prior-year estimates showing a trajectory of $18.4 million in 2024 and $20.7 million in 2025. These numbers come from automated aggregation platforms rather than investigative financial research, so treat them as a directional signal rather than a precise valuation. Given the scale of projects his ABS Group has reportedly been involved in, the actual figure could reasonably be higher, though sanctions and geopolitical risk related to Russia-linked assets since 2022 could also have depressed valuations significantly.

The key drivers behind his estimated wealth are worth spelling out clearly:

• ABS Group revenues: The core of his business is supplying electrical equipment and systems to large infrastructure integrators in Russia, with reported clients including state-controlled companies like RusHydro. Revenue from these contracts over many years would be the largest single contributor to accumulated wealth.
• Offshore holding structure: ABS International Ltd., a Cypriot holding company, is described in Paradise Papers documents as the consolidating vehicle for Russian operating entities. The value of these stakes is not publicly disclosed but represents the bulk of the estimated asset base.
• Russian Copper Company interest: His 2014 bid to acquire a majority stake in RTB Bor through Ruska bakarna kompanija signaled an asset base large enough to consider a major state mining acquisition, which implies significant capital reserves or financing capacity at that time.
• Geopolitical risk discount: Since 2022, Russia-linked assets have faced sanctions exposure, counter-party risk, and repatriation difficulties. Any credible estimate for 2025 or 2026 should apply a meaningful discount to Russia-based holdings compared to pre-2022 valuations.
• Real estate and liquid assets: No specific real estate holdings have been publicly documented in detail, but media profiles noting his lifestyle and business travel suggest some allocation to property.

Where the numbers actually come from

The $23 million figure originates from PeopleAI, which explicitly states its net worth calculations are "based on a combination of social factors," including internet influence measured across Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. PeopleAI itself warns that its figures are "guidance" only and "by no means accurate." That's an important disclosure that most sites republishing the number quietly omit.

For more substantive evidence, the most useful public sources are OCCRP's Paradise Papers reporting, which cites PwC documents describing the ABS Group's ownership structure in detail, and the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database, which lists a Milan Popovic (node 26844) as a ceased officer of Russian Copper Company Trade Limited as of June 9, 2011. The ICIJ Panama Papers database, covering leaked records from Mossack Fonseca, is also a relevant cross-reference for researchers digging into offshore structures from this era. Together these sources provide structural evidence of a significant offshore-linked business empire, even if they don't produce a clean dollar figure.

Serbian business media, including articles quoting Popović directly about the RTB Bor acquisition interest in April 2014, provide additional anchoring evidence that he was operating at a scale consistent with a multi-million-dollar asset base well before the current estimates.

Why net worth estimates vary so much across sites

If you've searched for this name across multiple sites, you've probably seen figures ranging from a few million to tens of millions of dollars, sometimes with no methodology attached at all. Here's why that variation exists:

1. Different source inputs: Some sites rely on social media influence proxies (like PeopleAI). Others use industry revenue multiples applied to business categories. Others simply copy figures from earlier publications without updating.
2. Currency and valuation date differences: A figure calculated in rubles or euros in 2019 looks very different when converted to USD in 2026, especially given exchange rate shifts and sanctions-driven asset write-downs.
3. Offshore asset exclusion: Sites that only look at Serbian or EU-registered assets will miss the bulk of Popović's estimated wealth, which appears to sit in Russian-linked structures. Sites aware of the Paradise Papers data may include those figures; most automated aggregators will not.
4. Rounding and republishing: Many celebrity net worth sites simply round or slightly modify numbers from a handful of original sources, creating the illusion of independent corroboration when there is none.
5. Geopolitical adjustments: Post-2022 estimates should ideally reflect the reduced market value and liquidity of Russia-linked assets, but most automated sites don't apply this kind of contextual correction.

This is a broader issue across Balkans and Eastern European public figures. Other individuals covered on this site, such as Milan Beko or Milan Nedeljković, face the same challenge: their wealth is concentrated in private business holdings, often with regional or offshore dimensions, making automated estimates particularly unreliable compared to the kind of investigative cross-referencing that produces a defensible range. If you are also searching for Milan Nedeljković net worth, the same caveats apply because private holdings can be hard to verify from public records.

How to verify, update, and use this estimate responsibly

If you need to use or cite a Milan Popović net worth figure, here's a practical checklist for doing it responsibly: If you want to go deeper, you can also look at how Milan Popović's business background and offshore holdings influence discussions about his net worth.

1. Confirm identity first: Check that your source is discussing the Serbian businessman with Russian copper and infrastructure interests, not the handball player or any other person with the same name. Look for mentions of ABS Group, RTB Bor, or Russian business connections as confirmation signals.
2. Search the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database: Go to offshoreleaks.icij.org and search "Milan Popovic." Node 26844 is the relevant entry. This gives you a primary-source anchor for offshore structure claims.
3. Read the OCCRP Paradise Papers reporting: OCCRP's coverage of Popović's offshore holdings is the most substantive public-domain investigative source. It provides structural detail that no automated net worth site replicates.
4. Apply a post-2022 discount: Any pre-2022 estimate should be mentally adjusted downward to account for the reduced value and accessibility of Russia-linked assets. How much of a discount is speculative, but it is a real factor.
5. Treat the $23 million figure as a floor reference, not a ceiling: Given the complexity and scale of the described business structure, the true figure could be higher, though sanctions risk and opacity make it impossible to confirm.
6. Cross-check Serbian business registry filings: Serbia's Agency for Business Registers (APR, apr.org.rs) publishes financial statements for Serbian-registered entities. Searching for any Serbian-registered companies linked to Popović can provide revenue and asset data directly from filings.
7. Note the estimate date and revisit annually: Net worth estimates for private businesspeople with Russia-linked assets are especially volatile. A figure from 2024 may be materially different from one compiled in late 2026.

The honest takeaway is that $23 million is the only specific number in public circulation for Milan Popović's net worth as of 2026, and it comes from a methodology that its own publisher describes as guidance rather than accuracy. The more credible investigative sources confirm a significant offshore-linked business structure but don't attach a dollar figure to it. For anyone using this estimate professionally, citing it as "approximately $23 million per available public estimates, with significant uncertainty given offshore asset structures" is the most defensible framing available given current public information.