Valentin Gapontsev, founder of Oxford laser manufacturer IPG Photonics, is worth $2.8 billion, according to the 2021 Forbes billionaire list, which circulated last week.
That’s a significant increase from last year, when the magazine valued Gapontsev at $1.6 billion, an increase of 75% year-to-year.
Gapontsev, who is 82, founded the company in Russia in 1991. The U.S. headquarters was established in 1998, and the company went public in 2006.
CORRECTION:Â A previous version of this article inaccurately stated Valentin Gapontsev’s age. He is 82.
