A representative of the second group of people close to the Russian president along with the Rotenbergs, the main shareholder of the Russian Bank, co-owner of the insurance company Sogas. He controls the most popular Russian TV channels such as First Channel, Fifth Channel, REN-TV and entertaining STS Channel through the National Media Group. He also has stakes in newspapers, digital media and content studios. In December, his company bought a stake of VK (VKontakte). In 2000s, state assets 60 billion worth were transferred to the Russian Bank owned by Mr. Kovalchuk and legal entities owned by other supporters of Mr. Putin, the Rotenbergs brothers and Gennady Timchenko, through Gazprom. Mr. Kovalchuk is close to Mr. Putin not only in business interests but also due to private connections. They both have houses in the exclusive dacha cooperative Ozero. According to the so called Panama papers, Mr. Kovalchuk organized a wedding of Putin’s daughter in 2013. In March of 2014, the Russia Banks was included into the sanctions list of the United States. After that, Vladimir Putin opened his account to which his presidential salary transferred at the bank.

He is number 47 on the Russian Forbes 2021 list.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Kovalchuk was one the people close to the Russian president who convinced him to start a full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine.