Russia Millionaire gives up fortune to live as a peasant

A 47 year old Russian man, German Sterligov did what many would consider unwise. At the age of 24 he became Russia’s first legal millionaire since 1917, Sterligov has given up all of that wealth and returned to the country side to live as a peasant.

Sterligov who set up Russia’s first commodities exchange , had over 2,500 employees at a time and took a shot at the country’s presidency in the early 2000s. But sadly, he was barred by election officials for odd reasons, building up huge debts following an expensive campaign. To cover the debt he was forced to sell his four storey mansion in Moscow. But he did not stop there, he thought to himself all material possessions are vanity and so proceeded in giving everything he ever owned away including shares worth hundreds of millions of pounds. “ He came home, threw down his jacket, and suddenly said, I can’t do any more here. Let’s go find a new life” his wife Alyona recalls.

With almost nothing to their name, the couple and their four children retreated to the woods. With the little money they had left, the Steligovs built a small log cabin with no electricity. Former Russian deputy prime minister, Boris Nemstov described Sterligov as a strange fellow. “He is an unusual character. There are very few people, in big business in particular, who would dare to give up everything and do a farmer’s work.”