Igor Bukhman
Russian-born British businessman; co-founder of the mobile games developer Playrix
| Igor Bukhman
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 March 1982 (Forbes) Vologda, Russia (Newswise/Yale) |
| Nationality | British (Forbes); also Israeli (Moscow Times) |
| Residence | London, United Kingdom (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Playrix; Bukhman Foundation |
| Spouse(s) | Anastasia Bukhman |
| Children | 4 (Forbes) |
| Sibling(s) | Dmitri Bukhman |
| Education | Vologda State Pedagogical University (MSc) (Forbes) |
Igor Bukhman (born 29 March 1982) is a Russian-born British businessman. With his younger brother Dmitri he owns Playrix, a developer of free mobile games including Homescapes, Gardenscapes, Township and Fishdom.[1][2] On 11 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Bukhman 228th in the world (tied with his brother Dmitri), 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] The Bukhman Foundation, which he set up with his wife Anastasia in 2023, pledged £100 million over ten years to type 1 diabetes research in 2025.[5][6]
Early life
Bukhman comes from Vologda in north-west Russia, as does his wife.[7][2] Forbes says the brothers began selling games online while Dmitri was still at school. It lists a master's degree from Vologda State Pedagogical University for Igor.[1] The Moscow Times says they began selling computer games in the early 2000s.[2]
Playrix
The brothers founded Playrix in 2004.[2] In 2018 they bought a stake in the games developer Nexters Global.[1] Forbes estimates Playrix's annual revenue at more than US$2.5 billion.[1] The Currency, citing the company's filed accounts, reported turnover of US$2.6 billion (€2.2 billion) in 2024, down from US$2.8 billion the year before.[8] 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]
Locations
The Moscow Times says Playrix has been headquartered in Dublin since 2014, and The Currency says the brothers moved the headquarters from Russia to Ireland more than a decade ago.[2][8] After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the brothers 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 the company closed its Russian office in 2022 and relocated almost all of its 1,500 Russian employees.[1] It runs studios in Serbia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Cyprus.[2]
Bukhman Foundation
Igor and Anastasia Bukhman set up the Bukhman Foundation in 2023. According to the Yale School of Medicine, it is based in London, is chaired by Anastasia, and funds type 1 diabetes research, educational bursaries, and arts and culture.[5][7]
Type 1 diabetes research
On 16 May 2025 the foundation announced a £100 million pledge over ten years for type 1 diabetes research and advocacy.[5][6] One of the first gifts from the pledge was £300,000 to Diabetes UK for a fellowship at the University of Cambridge led by Kasra Bahadori.[5] On 10 November 2026 the Yale School of Medicine announced a US$10 million gift from the couple, made through the foundation. It funds a five-year research programme aimed at reversing and ultimately curing type 1 diabetes.[7]
Booker Prize
A separate family foundation, Bukhman Philanthropies, was set up by Dmitri Bukhman and his wife Daria. In July 2026 it became the sponsor of the International Booker Prize.[2]
Wealth
Forbes classes Bukhman as self-made, with wealth from online games.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 7 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2020. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ 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.[2]
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. The Bukhman Foundation funds research in the UK and the US.[2][5][7]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Igor Bukhman (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/igor-bukhman/) Forbes, live record, read 11 November 2026, accessed 11 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 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 11 November 2026 07:10 UTC, accessed 11 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 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Diabetes UK, £100 million pledge by the Bukhman Foundation to transform type 1 diabetes research Diabetes UK, 16 May 2025, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Breakthrough T1D staff, £100m pledge by Bukhman Foundation to transform T1D research Breakthrough T1D UK, 16 May 2025, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Yale School of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine Receives $10M Gift to Cure Type 1 Diabetes Newswise, 10 November 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jonathan Keane, Despite revenue dip, Playrix founders reap rewards from multi-billion-dollar Dublin-based gaming empire The Currency, 24 October 2025, accessed 11 November 2026.