Dmitri Bukhman
Russian-born British businessman; co-founder of the mobile games developer Playrix
| Dmitri Bukhman
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 May 1985 (Forbes) Vologda, Russia (Moscow Times) |
| Nationality | British (Forbes); also Israeli (Moscow Times) |
| Residence | London, United Kingdom (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Playrix; sponsor of the International Booker Prize |
| Spouse(s) | Daria Bukhman |
| Children | 4 (Forbes) |
| Sibling(s) | Igor Bukhman |
| Education | Vologda State Pedagogical University (MSc) (Forbes) |
Dmitri Bukhman (also spelled Dmitry; born 27 May 1985) is a Russian-born British businessman. With his brother Igor he owns Playrix, a developer of free mobile games including Homescapes, Gardenscapes, Township and Fishdom.[1][2] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Bukhman 227th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$13.5 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as online games.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Bukhman 216th, at US$13.6 billion.[4] Playrix has its headquarters in Dublin. The Moscow Times reported in 2026 that the brothers hold British and Israeli citizenship and live in London.[2] In July 2026 his foundation, Bukhman Philanthropies, became sponsor of the International Booker Prize, which was renamed the Bukhman International Booker Prize.[2]
Early life
Bukhman and his brother come from Vologda in north-west Russia.[2] According to TNW, he taught himself to code as a child, and the brothers made their first game on an old Pentium PC their grandfather had given them.[5] Forbes says they began selling games online while he was still at school, and it lists a master's degree from Vologda State Pedagogical University.[1]
Playrix
The brothers founded Playrix in 2004.[2] In 2018 they bought a stake in the games developer Nexters Global.[1] The Currency reported revenue of US$2.6 billion (€2.2 billion) for 2024, down from US$2.8 billion in 2023.[6] Citing Bloomberg, The Moscow Times said Playrix was briefly the world's second-largest mobile games company by revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, after Tencent.[2] TNW reported that Playrix ranked fourth among mobile publishers by in-app purchase revenue in 2024, and that it had faced accusations of pay-to-win mechanics and misleading advertising.[5]
Locations
Sources differ on when the company left Russia. The Moscow Times says Playrix has been headquartered in Dublin since 2014, and The Currency says the brothers moved it from Russia to Ireland more than a decade ago.[2][6] TNW says the brothers moved to Israel in 2016 and to the UK four years later.[5] After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 they called the war a "great tragedy" and called for it to end. Playrix later said it would stop commercial operations in Russia and Belarus.[2] Forbes says it closed its Russian office and relocated almost all of its 1,500 Russian employees.[1] It runs studios in Serbia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Cyprus.[2]
Philanthropy
Bukhman Philanthropies, set up by Bukhman and his wife Daria, committed £1.4 million a year for ten years to the International Booker Prize from 2026. The deal doubled the prize for the winning author and translator to £100,000.[2]
Rankings
In May 2025 The Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List put his wealth at £12.54 billion, the highest on the list.[5]
Wealth
Forbes classes Bukhman as self-made, with wealth from online games.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 7 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2020. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 648 | 3.1 |
| 2021 | 311 | 7.9 |
| 2022 | 275 | 8.1 |
| 2023 | 332 | 7.0 |
| 2024 | 272 | 9.0 |
| 2025 | 280 | 9.8 |
| 2026 | 216 | 13.6 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
The Moscow Times reports that the brothers hold Israeli as well as British citizenship. TNW says they lived in Israel from 2016 until moving to the UK four years later.[2][5]
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
The Moscow Times said Playrix was briefly second only to Tencent in mobile games revenue during the pandemic.[2]
Russia
Bukhman was born in Russia. After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine the brothers called the war a "great tragedy", and Playrix stopped commercial operations in Russia and Belarus.[2][1]
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
Playrix is headquartered in Ireland and has studios in Serbia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Cyprus.[2]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Dmitri Bukhman (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/dmitri-bukhman/) Forbes, live record, read 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 The Moscow Times, Russian-Born Playrix Billionaire Becomes International Booker Prize Sponsor The Moscow Times, 2 July 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 10 November 2026 23:28 UTC, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Thomas Macaulay, Gaming billionaire named UK’s richest person under 40 in tech-heavy wealth list TNW, 16 May 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jonathan Keane, Despite revenue dip, Playrix founders reap rewards from multi-billion-dollar Dublin-based gaming empire The Currency, 24 October 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.