XTX Markets billionaire founder almost doubles his wealth in a year
Alex Gerko, founder of XTX Markets, has nearly doubled his net worth in just one year, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The 43-year-old, who launched the London-based proprietary trading and market-making business in 2015, is now worth £8.5bn following a bumper year for the business. In June, it was reported that revenue from its UK business jumped by 68 per cent to £2.5bn.
XTX employs so-called algorithmic trading strategies, where decisions are automated through machines, to provide liquidity to businesses, exchanges and trading venues.
Gerko – who was born in Russia but took British citizenship in 2016 after living in the UK for a decade – was also recently named the by The Sunday Times as Britain’s biggest taxpayer earlier this year, coughing up a total of £487.4m.
Gerko has been a fierce critic of the invasion of Ukraine and renounced his Russian citizenship at the end of last year.
He has reportedly donated to charitable causes including the UBS Ukraine emergency appeal, reading and numeracy initiatives in Africa, a geothermal energy non-profit and the Rewilding Britain scheme.