Timur Turlov has built Freedom Holding Corp. from a small brokerage business into a Nasdaq-listed international fintech group, making him one of Kazakhstan’s wealthiest entrepreneurs. As the company has expanded, so has interest in the businessman behind it. This article looks at how Turlov built his fortune, his path from teenage trader to Freedom founder, and what is known about his citizenship, family and life outside business.

Timur Turlov is the founder, Chief Executive Officer, and controlling shareholder of Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp., an international financial technology group headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Timur Turlov was born in Russia but has built his business in Kazakhstan since 2011. In 2022, he became a Kazakhstani citizen.

Turlov is one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent private entrepreneurs and is included on Forbes’ global billionaires list. On his global Forbes profile, his estimated net worth fluctuates with the market: as of August 25, 2026, his fortune was listed at $6.9 billion. The main source of his wealth remains his stake in Freedom Holding Corp.; Forbes classifies his fortune as self-made.

Timur Turlov’s wealth is tied primarily to the value of his shares in Freedom Holding Corp., rather than to cash held in a bank account. As a result, his estimated net worth can change significantly even when he does not sell any assets.

The company’s 2026 proxy statement indicates that, as of July 29, 2026, Turlov owned approximately 66.5% of Freedom Holding Corp.’s common shares. Forbes Kazakhstan provides a more precise figure of 66.46% as of July 1, 2026; this figure is also supported by a Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) shareholder disclosure.

Forbes’ methodology for its 2026 World’s Billionaires list states that its wealth estimates take into account assets including stakes in publicly traded and privately held companies, as well as known debt and other relevant holdings. For its Real-Time Billionaires ranking, Forbes says the value of publicly traded holdings is updated every five minutes while the relevant stock market is open, subject to a 15-minute stock-price delay.

Because a substantial part of Turlov’s wealth is tied to his stake in Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp., movements in the FRHC share price can therefore have a direct effect on Forbes’ estimate of his net worth and his position in the global ranking. Forbes Kazakhstan estimated his fortune at $5.2 billion in May 2026. By the end of August, the estimate had risen.

The difference between the May and early-August estimates is consistent with changes in the market value of his holdings over the period, although Forbes’ calculation may also incorporate changes in other assets and liabilities.

Timur Turlov was born on November 13, 1987, in the Moscow region. Far less is publicly known about his childhood than about the early years of his career. Forbes Kazakhstan reported that his mother worked as a biochemist. There is very little public information about his father: in an interview, Turlov said that he remembers him poorly. Reliable business sources do not confirm information about his father’s profession or later life.

In describing his school years, Turlov has not portrayed himself as an unusually entrepreneurial child. According to Forbes Kazakhstan, he struggled with mathematics when he could not see the practical value of the material. His interest in financial markets developed later: as a teenager, he began reading about securities, studying companies, and making his first investments.

After school, Turlov enrolled at K. E. Tsiolkovsky Russian State Technological University and graduated in 2009 with a degree in economics and management. By that time, he had already been working in financial markets for several years.

Timur Turlov began investing in the stock market at around age 15. According to an account he gave Forbes Kazakhstan, after his grandfather’s death, he inherited about $800. He used part of the money to open a brokerage account with 20,000 rubles and bought shares in a Russian energy company. He eventually closed the position, although he later recalled that after he sold the shares, their price more than fivefold.

At the age of 16, Turlov interviewed at the Moscow branch of World Capital Investments (WCI) and began working as a trader. Because of the time difference with the United States, he worked in the evening and at night while continuing his studies during the day.

In 2005, Timur Turlov moved to a division of Uniastrum Bank, where he worked in brokerage operations and trading and helped develop the infrastructure needed to give clients access to U.S. exchanges. He remained in this area until 2008. When the investment division was closed during the financial crisis, the experience he had gained and the team he had worked with became the foundation of his own business. Freedom was therefore built on the founders’ professional experience and capital rather than on an inherited company or a large family fortune.

Freedom traces its origins to 2008. Timur Turlov assembled a team and launched his own brokerage company focused on providing clients with access to the U.S. stock market.

Publications describe the initial capital differently. In an interview with Forbes Kazakhstan, Turlov said he invested about $50,000 of his own money, while his former manager contributed a similar amount and provided an existing legal entity for the business. Forbes’ global profile puts the founders’ initial capital at approximately $100,000.

In 2015, the company began transitioning to its current corporate structure: BMB Munai entered into an agreement with Turlov to acquire his financial companies and changed its name to Freedom Holding Corp. In 2019, the holding company’s shares were listed on Nasdaq. Since then, its operations have expanded far beyond traditional brokerage services. In Kazakhstan, the group operates a bank, insurance businesses, payment services, telecommunications, lifestyle services, and other digital products, some of which are integrated into the Freedom SuperApp.

Turlov was born in Moscow and was originally a Russian citizen. He first came to Kazakhstan in 2011 and later made the country the base for both his business and family life. In 2022, the entrepreneur became a Kazakhstani citizen.

When discussing the decision publicly, he said that his family had lived in the country for many years, that many of his children had been born there, and that all of his children live and study in Kazakhstan.

Because Kazakhstan does not recognize dual citizenship, the change also required him to give up his other citizenships. In 2022 he renounced his Russian citizenship and his citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis and became a citizen of Kazakhstan. The family resides permanently in Almaty.

It is therefore more accurate to describe Turlov as a Russian-born Kazakhstani entrepreneur: his birthplace is in Russia, while his current citizenship, permanent residence, and principal business activities are all based in Kazakhstan.

Timur Turlov is married to Elena Turlova, whom he met while they were students. The couple married around the time Turlov was building the business that would eventually become Freedom Holding Corp. When the family moved to Kazakhstan in the early 2010s, they already had three children. Today, Timur and Elena Turlov live in Almaty and are raising six children — three sons and three daughters.

Turlov once said in an interview that while he may be the president at work, at home that role belongs to his wife. Elena manages the children’s schedules and coordinates the family’s plans.

According to his official biography, Turlov spends some of his free time playing chess with his children, as well as walking and cycling. Turlov believes that children follow their parents’ example more than their words. That is why, he says, parents should focus on their own behavior rather than simply telling their children what is right. Timur Turlov has also said that he does not expect his children to automatically follow him into business, preferring to let them choose their own career paths.

Timur Turlov conducts much of his philanthropic work through Freedom Shapagat and other Freedom Holding initiatives. The Freedom Shapagat Foundation was established in August 2023 as the group’s nonprofit arm, coordinating charitable and sponsorship programs in education, sports, culture, environmental projects, and social initiatives.

In January 2023, Timur Turlov became president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. Since September 2024, he has also led the International School Chess Federation (ISCF), a FIDE-affiliated organization established to unite national school chess associations and promote the integration of chess into school education internationally. Under the ISCF’s auspices, an World Schools Team Championship is held across Asia, the Americas, Africa and Europe. Over three years, Turlov and his businesses have invested $75 million in chess.

In 2026, Timur Turlov took his involvement in the sport to the global level by announcing his candidacy for president of FIDE, the international governing body for chess. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand joined his ticket as a candidate for vice president. The election is scheduled to take place in Samarkand on September 26, 2026.

In football, Turlov helped launch the Freedom QJ League and became chairman of its Board of Trustees. Forbes Kazakhstan estimated Freedom’s total investment in the project at 8.6 billion tenge ($18.8 million).

In education, the group helped finance a new building at SDU University in Almaty and the campus of the IQanat school. In August 2026, Freedom Holding became one of the local partners of the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence, IOAI 2026, in Astana. More than 500 school students from 106 countries took part in the competition.These initiatives focus mainly on education, youth sports, and technology skills.

What Is Timur Turlov's Net Worth?

The estimate changes along with Freedom Holding’s share price. Forbes Kazakhstan reported $5.2 billion in May 2026, while his global Forbes profile showed $6.9 billion as of August 25, 2026. Most of his wealth is tied to his stake in FRHC.

Is Timur Turlov Married?

Yes. Turlov is married to Elena Turlova. The family lives in Almaty and has six children.

Who Are Timur Turlov's Parents?

Public sources confirm information about his mother, who worked as a biochemist. Turlov has said that he barely remembers his father; there is little reliable public information about his father’s biography.

What Citizenship Does Timur Turlov Hold?

He was born in Moscow but has been a citizen of Kazakhstan since 2022. When he became a Kazakhstani citizen, Turlov renounced his Russian citizenship and his citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

What Is Timur Turlov's Religion?

Turlov has publicly said that he believes in God. In a 2024 interview, he spoke about what he asks God for and said that he does not turn to the Almighty as often as he believes he should. Kazakhstani media have described him as Christian, although Turlov does not appear to discuss his religious affiliation extensively in public.

How Tall Is Timur Turlov?

Kazakhstani media report his height as 6 feet 6 inches (199 cm). Liter.kz reported the figure in December 2024, and BES.media later cited it as well in articles about a joint video featuring Turlov and the blogger Alisher Yelikbayev.