Mikhail Khodorkovsky / 2005 net worth: $15 billion

Mikhail Khodorkovsky © Getty ImagesOnce Russia's richest man, former Yukos Oil boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 45, built an empire in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Then the Kremlin came knocking, arresting the oligarch on several charges, including fraud and tax evasion. He was convicted in 2005 and is serving an eight-year sentence, though recent charges for money laundering could keep him in prison for decades. Khodorkovsky has always maintained that his arrest was politically motivated. He last appeared on the Forbes billionaires list in 2005.
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Leona Helmsley / 2007 net worth: $2.5 billion

Leona Helmsley © APLeona Helmsley, who died in August 2007 at 87, was convicted of tax evasion in 1989 after a trial in which a former housekeeper quoted her as saying: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." Her husband, Harry, was also charged, but illness prevented him from facing trial. She was eventually fined $8 million and spent 18 months in prison.
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Lee Kun-hee / 2008 net worth: $2 billion

Lee Kun-Hee © APIn July 2008 former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee was convicted of tax evasion and breach of trust. He was fined $109 million. The investigation snared other Samsung executives as well. The 66-year-old Lee quickly announced his resignation after his indictment, reportedly telling a nationally televised audience that he would take "full responsibility, both moral and legal" for the charges. He retired from Samsung on April 21 but remains the company's largest shareholder.
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Igor Olenicoff / 2008 net worth: $1.6 billion

Igor Olenicoff © OPCIgor Olenicoff, 70, hid $200 million in assets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and pleaded guilty in December to filing a false tax return. The Russian-born Olenicoff, worth an estimated $1.6 billion, paid $52 million in back taxes, interest and civil fraud penalties, and was sentenced to two years' probation.
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