Tatyana Bakalchuk, 48, the founder and CEO of Wildberries and the wealthiest woman in Russia, is engaged in a public dispute with her husband over a company merger.
She is a self-made entrepreneur who turned an internet shopping mall she started during maternity leave into Russia’s largest e-commerce company. She is also of Korean descent, having the surname Kim before marriage.
According to Russian media outlet RBC, on July 24, Bakalchuk made a statement on her social media the previous day regarding her conflict with her husband, Vladislav Bakalchuk.
In her statement, she expressed, “I wonder for what purpose Vladislav is misleading people with manipulated stories,” and revealed that she had started divorce proceedings.
Tatiana Bakalchuk holds 99% of the shares in Wildberries, while her husband owns the remaining 1%.
In June, her husband claimed that the merger between Russia’s largest outdoor advertising company, Russ Outdoor, and Wildberries was disadvantageous to Wildberries.
In an interview with RBC, he asserted, “The management of Russ is manipulating Tatyana,” He added, “Wildberries has also been hit hard, with a significant slowdown in sales growth.”
In response, Bakalchuk refuted her husband’s claims, expressing disappointment that he would publicize their personal matters. She emphasized, “I am doing well with all seven of my children.”
According to Forbes, Bakalchuk’s net worth amounts to $12.9 billion.
She worked as an English teacher when she founded Wildberries on maternity leave in 2004. She expanded her business by posting photos of German clothing on a website and receiving online orders from people who did not have time to shop, such as women caring for children.
Wildberries reportedly experienced explosive growth, receiving 1.5 billion orders in 2022 alone, coinciding with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, Wildberries, often referred to as the Amazon of Russia, generated sales of $29 billion.
