ArmInfo. Forbes has compiled its latest ranking of the kings of Russian real estate for 2025. The total income of the 30 largest rentiers increased by 18% over the year, and the entry threshold rose from $25 million to $40 million. Samvel Karapetyan, Russian-Armenian businessman and head of the Tashir Group of Companies, ranks second in the TOP 10 largest rentiers, behind only Azerbaijani entrepreneurs God Nisanov and Zakhar Iliev.
It is noted that in April 2025, a Kievskaya Ploshchad entity purchased the luxury Vremena Goda shopping center (67,000 sq. m) on Kutuzovsky Prospekt at auction for 16 billion rubles. The complex has been operating since 2007, but has changed owners several times in recent years. Later, Iliev and Nisanov's company acquired the Lyublinskoye Pole shopping center (25,000 sq. m), which specializes in consruction materials and is located next to the Moscow Shopping Center, owned by Kievskaya Ploshchad.
In December, Sergei Sobyanin announced that the first phase of the Olympic Sports Complex, which has been under renovation since 2019, would open in 2026, with the entire project to be launched in 2027. Its area is "slightly less than 1 million sq. m," the Moscow mayor stated. The investor is Kyiv Ploshchad.
Regarding Karapetyan's holdings, it is emphasized that the technical opening of the large Avenue Sever shopping center (135,000 sq. m.) near the Seligerskaya metro station in Moscow took place in December 2025. "Tashir is a diversified company. In addition to commercial real estate management, it is involved in residential construction, energy, banking, and developing MedTech projects. The holding's total revenue in 2025 increased by 7% to 278 billion rubles," the publication states.
It is also noted that Tashir founder and owner Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in Yerevan this summer on charges of publicly calling for a coup d'etat. He was held in pretrial detention, but was moved to house arrest in January 2026. Karapetyan has criticized Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and supported Catholicos of the Armenian Church Karekin II. The strengthening of the ruble played a significant role: the average annual dollar exchange rate in 2025 was 10% lower than in 2024. (At the end of 2024, total rental income increased by only 5% compared to 2023.)
Overall, speaking about the situation on the Russian real estate market, Forbes emphasized that while the previous two years saw fragmented and frantic growth, experts are calling 2025 a return to normalcy. Warehouse rental rates are no longer skyrocketing: according to IBC Real Estate, they grew by 50% annually in 2023 and 2024, but fell by 9% in 2025, according to NF Group.
Eight participants in the rating have warehouse portfolios exceeding 100,000 square meters. Office prices have also risen. According to NF Group, rental rates will increase by 16-30% in 2025, while IBC Real Estate estimates an 11% increase. Nikoliers reports an 18% increase within the Third Transport Ring and an 11% increase throughout the rest of Moscow. Demand for offices is not limited to the capital. According to NF Group, rental rates in St. Petersburg increased by 9-10% in 2025, and by 50% cumulatively over the past five years. One of the newcomers to the ranking is Andrey Fomenko's Senator, which owns and manages a network of 52 business centers. Another newcomer, the Riotex Group, has also created its own network of business centers in Moscow. Real estate fund managers are becoming increasingly active in the market.
Leading real estate consulting firms analyzed the lists of properties owned by the participants in the rentier rating and provided some rental income estimates. As in previous years, Forbes collaborated with consulting firms Ricci, NF Group, Nikoliers, IBC Real Estate, Commonwealth Partnership, and CORE.XP in developing the ranking. The ranking presents the rental income that could be generated by commercial real estate owned by a company. Space used for the company's own needs is not included. Ruble income was converted to USD at a rate of 83.58. If the same person owns shares in different companies in the rating, they are listed as owners of each.
