Kiwi buys into Russian bank

New Zealand billionaire investor Richard Chandler has reportedly bought a 3 per cent stake in Russian commercial bank Sberbank.

Russian business newspaper Kommersant reported Chandler spent about US$430 million ($759 million).

Forbes Magazine's 2009 world billionaires list estimated Waikato brothers Richard and Christopher Chandler were worth US$1 billion each. They built their fortune in Hong Kong real estate up to late 2006.

Christopher Chandler, 49, lives in Dubai and heads all-in-one billion-dollar investment firm, venture fund and think tank Legatum. Richard Chandler, 50, lives in Monaco and founded Orient Global in Singapore. He focuses on investments in emerging markets with emphasis on social returns, according to Forbes.