The life he leads makes it possible.

But is Vladimir Putin secretly the wealthiest person in the world?

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism's Maeve McClenaghan talks to a Russian political analyst who says that Putin owns shares in three major oil and gas companies: 4.5% of Gazprom, 37% of oil supplier Surgutneftegas and up to 75% of oil trader Gunvor.

The analyst, Stanislav Belkovsky, says the Russian president could be worth up to $70 billion.

"His estimate is based on information gained from confidential sources around the corporations, Belkovsky claims. But he is reluctant to reveal more," McClenaghan writes.

TBIG's premise is that Putin's declaration of his own net worth in the recent election was pretty suspicious.

According to the Russian Central Electoral Commission, McClenaghan reports, Putin has $179,612 in the bank and has earned around half a million dollars in the past four years. His wife Lyudmila has $261,541 in four bank accounts.

"Putin’s declared assets are also rather spartan. He has claimed to have a share in a public garage, apartments in Moscow and St Petersburg and a 1,500-square meter plot of land outside Moscow," she says.