Timur Turlov: A Short Introduction
Timur Turlov is the founder of Freedom Holding, its CEO and majority shareholder. Freedom Holding Corp. is the Nasdaq-listed parent company of the global fintech group, bringing together its businesses in 24 countries.
The holding combines financial, lifestyle, telecommunications and technology businesses. Its financial services include securities trading, banking, payments and insurance, while the lifestyle segment covers e-grocery, ticketing, travel and media. Its telecommunications and technology businesses span connectivity services, cloud infrastructure, data centers and artificial intelligence.
Freedom’s rapid growth made Turlov one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent business figures. He appears on the Forbes Kazakhstan billionaires list and in Forbes’ global billionaire rankings.
In March 2026, Forbes placed Turlov at No. 823 on its World’s Billionaires list, estimating his fortune at $5.2 billion based on the market value of his stake in Freedom Holding at that time. Forbes Kazakhstan ranked him No. 6 among the 75 richest businesspeople in its 2026 ranking in April 2026.
Birth, Childhood, and Family Background
Timur Turlov was born on November 13, 1987, in Lobnya, a town in the Moscow Region, and spent his childhood there.
His mother was a researcher and raised him as a single parent. His father, originally from Shymkent, Kazakhstan, according to Turlov, disappeared when Timur was three years old. Turlov has said that he has only vague memories of his father and that the family never found out what happened to him.
Turlov grew up during the difficult economic period after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the family’s finances were often tight. His mother carefully managed the household budget to make sure the family had enough for basic needs. He has recalled that six people lived together in a small room of less than 30 square meters.
Looking back, Turlov has described those years as an important influence on his attitude toward money. He has said they gave him what he called an “inner hunger” – a strong desire for financial security and independence. Additionally, Western films, which started to be increasingly accessible in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, telling stories of traders making fortunes on Wall Street, sparked his interest in financial markets.
Wife and Children
Turlov met his future wife, Elena, while they were studying at university. They married in August 2008, when his career was beginning. Elena has stayed largely out of the public eye and has focused on the family, taking care of the household and children. Turlov has described their family as an important source of stability throughout his career, giving him both support and a sense of direction.
The couple is raising six children – three daughters and three sons.
Turlov has said that he does not try to impose rigid rules or plan his children’s future for them. Instead, he explains the reasons behind decisions and allows them to see the consequences of their choices. He does not expect his children to continue his career in finance or business. For Turlov, the more valuable legacy is not a predetermined career or a fortune, but the ability to think independently, develop useful skills, and build a life of their own.
Citizenship, Identity, and Public Persona
Timur Turlov was born in Russia but has spent much of his adult life in Kazakhstan. In 2011, Timur Turlov moved to Kazakhstan with his family, drawn by the country’s more favorable business environment and opportunities in financial services, where competition was still limited. He acquired a local brokerage company, establishing what would become the group’s main regional base. Over the following decade, Kazakhstan became central to both his business and personal life, with Turlov and his family residing in Almaty.
In 2022, Turlov became a citizen of Kazakhstan after meeting the country’s naturalization requirements, including the required period of ten years residence. He has described this decision as a natural step, given his long-standing ties to the country and his plans for the future. Because Kazakhstan does not allow dual citizenship, he renounced his Russian citizenship and his citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis as part of the naturalization process.
Today, Turlov’s public identity is closely associated with Kazakhstan, where Freedom Holding has grown from a regional brokerage into a diversified financial group with operations across multiple markets. Turlov has repeatedly positioned the country not simply as the location of his business, but as his home place where he intends to live and continue building his long-term future.
Education and First Steps in Finance
Turlov began his journey in financial markets at a relatively young age. At 15, he invested $800 he had received from his grandfather in the stock market. It was his first hands-on experience in finance.
The following year, he took his first job in finance, trading at the Moscow branch of World Capital Investments (WCI), an American investment firm. He later joined a brokerage affiliate of Russian Uniastrum Bank, helping develop infrastructure that gave clients access to U.S. stock exchanges.
At the same time, Turlov studied economics and management at the Russian State Technological University named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky, balancing his day studies with his evening work with U.S. markets.
The Founding of Freedom Finance
In 2008, at age 21, Turlov founded Freedom Finance, an investment company focused on giving clients access to U.S. stock exchanges.
The decision came as the global financial crisis brought his career at Uniastrum Bank’s brokerage arm to an abrupt end. The brokerage business closed, prompting Turlov and several former colleagues to strike out on their own, drawing on the expertise and client relationships they had developed.
They pooled their severance payments and started with about $100,000 in capital.
From Freedom Finance to a Global Holding Company
The decision to move to Kazakhstan quickly proved its value. The brokerage business grew rapidly, expanding its network and client base across the country. The move also gave Freedom access to a market where demand for investment products was developing quickly, and competition in financial services was still relatively limited. In 2015, Turlov added a local bank to the group, expanding its business into banking services and laying the foundation for a broader financial ecosystem.
The expansion changed Freedom Finance’s concept. What started as a brokerage focused on access to U.S. stock exchanges gradually became a financial group offering several services to the same growing customer base. Brokerage remained at the center of the business, but banking allowed the group to build deeper, more regular client relationships beyond securities trading. This broader model eventually became a defining feature of Freedom’s development.
In autumn 2019, just before its NASDAQ listing, Freedom Holding was a compact, specialized financial group with a presence in a few countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. At the time, its services included retail securities brokerage, investment counseling, securities trading, market making, corporate investment banking, and underwriting. These were provided through the holding’s several brokerage firms, banks, the Freedom24 online trading portal for retail clients, and the advanced TraderNet platform for qualified investors, all operating under the U.S.-incorporated Freedom Holding Corp., which made its Nasdaq debut in October 2019 under the ticker FRHC.
The Nasdaq listing marked an important transition in the company’s development. Freedom Holding was no longer simply a regional brokerage group, but a publicly traded global holding with access to international capital markets and a platform for further expansion. The listing also gave investors a direct way to participate in the company’s growth and tied the business’s market value more closely to its operating performance and expansion strategy.
Over time, Freedom expanded beyond its core financial business to build a broader multi-industry ecosystem. In the financial segment, brokerage and banking were joined by insurance, while the group added lifestyle services such as e-commerce, travel, event ticketing, and media services. More recently, Freedom has expanded into telecommunications and digital infrastructure, including internet and connectivity services, data center construction, and AI projects in Kazakhstan.
The logic behind this expansion was to move beyond a traditional financial-services model and create a broader digital ecosystem around the customer. Instead of treating brokerage, banking, insurance, and everyday services as separate businesses, Freedom increasingly brought them together through a common digital infrastructure. The Freedom SuperApp offers multiple services through a single interface.
As the ecosystem grew, so did its geographic footprint. From its home market in Kazakhstan, Freedom expanded across Central Asia and into Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The holding’s international development has combined organic growth with acquisitions and partnerships. By 2026, the group operated in 24 countries, a significant change from the relatively small regional brokerage Turlov built in the late 2000s. Its international expansion increasingly focused on replicating and adapting the integrated fintech and digital model developed in Kazakhstan.
For fiscal 2026, ended March 31, 2026, Freedom Holding reported $2.19 billion in revenue, up from $2.00 billion a year earlier, while net income more than doubled to $153.3 million from $76.2 million. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, revenue increased another 40% year over year to $732.5 million, while total assets rose to $14.05 billion. Together with partner services, Freedom SuperApp has a user base of around 14 million.
Net Worth Timeline
Timur Turlov remains Freedom Holding Corp.’s controlling shareholder, with a stake of 66.46%. His net worth is directly tied to the value of his stake in Freedom Holding. Because Freedom Holding is publicly traded, Turlov’s reported fortune can change significantly as the company’s share price moves.
Forbes’ real-time estimate put Turlov’s net worth at around $7 billion, ranking him No. 580 in the world, as of September 7, 2026.
The growth in that stake’s value reflects the transformation of Freedom Holding itself. Since its Nasdaq listing in October 2019, Freedom Holding has grown more than twelvefold, from a boutique financial holding valued at approximately $0.837 billion ($14.42 per share) to a global multi-industry ecosystem valued at more than $10.3 billion as of September 7, 2026 ($164.54 per share). During 2025, the stock reached an intraday high of $194.01 in August, corresponding to a market capitalization of roughly $11.76 billion.
Frequently Asked Questions About Timur Turlov
What Is Timur Turlov’s Net Worth?
As of September 7, 2026, Forbes estimated Timur Turlov’s real-time net worth at around $7 billion. His wealth is directly tied to his 66.46% stake in Freedom Holding Corp. Forbes calculates his fortune based largely on the market value of his stake in the company, meaning that his net worth changes with Freedom Holding’s share price.
How Tall Is Timur Turlov?
Timur Turlov is 199 cm (6 feet 6 inches) tall.
Who Is Timur Turlov’s Wife?
Turlov’s wife is Elena, whom he met while they were studying at university. They married in August 2008, when his career was beginning. She has largely stayed out of the public eye and has focused on the family and household. Turlov has described her support as an important source of stability throughout his career. The couple has six children – three daughters and three sons.
What Is Timur Turlov’s Religion?
Timur Turlov is a Christian.
Who Are Timur Turlov’s Parents?
Turlov was raised by his mother, a researcher, as a single parent. His father, who was originally from Shymkent, Kazakhstan, disappeared when Timur was three years old. Turlov has said that he has only vague memories of him and that the family never found out what happened to his father. He grew up during a financially difficult period and has described his childhood as a major influence on his attitude toward money and financial independence.
What Nationality Is Timur Turlov?
Turlov was born in Russia but has lived in Kazakhstan since 2011. In 2022, he became a citizen of Kazakhstan after meeting the country’s naturalization requirements. Because Kazakhstan does not allow dual citizenship, he renounced his Russian and Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenships. He has described Kazakhstan as the place where he intends to live and continue building his future.