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The best illustrations and photos from Business Insider in 2024.

20 December 2024 at 08:23
The Best of Visuals 2024.

Mat Voyce for BI

Business Insider's creative team covered an array of projects this year. We brought our stories to life by incorporating animations, crafting bespoke multimedia experiences for our biggest stories, producing and commissioning hundreds of illustrations, and working with photographers around the globe.

Our visuals captured a wide range of topics, from looking into illegal lockouts in major US cities to Ozempic Scams.

We hired nearly 250 talented freelancers who helped bring our most compelling stories to life, producing over 1,500 pieces of custom art that enhanced our storytelling.

Here are some of our favorite visual creations from 2024.


For God, for country, for rain

Photos by Jett Lara

Augustus Doricko walks over fire in a beach bonfire.

Jett Lara for BI

Why we don't exercise

Illustration by Timo Lenzen

Illustration of sneakers hanging on a tree with a butterfly.

Timo Lenzen for BI

Locked out

Illustration by Andrei Cojocaru, Design and Development by Rebecca Zisser, Isabel Fernandez-Pujol, Randy Yeip, and Annie Fu, Photos by Bridget Bennett, Callaghan O'Hare, Alyssa Pointer, Abel Uribe

Collage of a house and a family.

Andrei Cojocaru for BI

The risky allure of WiFi Money

Illustrations by Brandon Celi

A man whose face is swirling into a black hole. There's a car and a plane in the background and money flying everywhere.

Brandon Celi for BI

Lunar New Year traditions through the lens of three photographers

Photos by Caroline Xia, Ramona Jingru Wang, and Sam Lee

Friends gathered around dinner table enjoying Chinese New Year meal

Caroline Xia

The plight of big sisters

Illustration by Gracia Lam

Illustration of sisters under an umbrella.

Gracia Lam for Business Insider

Albums are too damn long

Illustration by Tyler Le

Two record players with drastically different sized vinyls

Tyler Le/BI

Want to make money as a pop star? Dream on.

Illustrations by Chris Burnett

Rachel Chinouriri; Raye; Tinashe; Two Door Cinema Club

Lauren Harris; KAPFHAMMER; Matt Jelonek/Getty Images; Katy Cummings; Chris Burnett for BI

The American dream is shrinking

Illustration by Javier Jaén

A family in a snow globe.

Javier Jaén for BI

America is facing a 'fringe friend' crisis

Illustration by Seba Cestaro

Man surrounded by fragmented and cracked geometric shapes, each containing people inside

Seba Cestaro for BI

'Civilizations rise and fall'

Illustration by Hokyoung Kim

A group of people watching a building being constructed

Hokyoung Kim for BI

Gen Z's new status symbol

Illustration by Pablo Declan

Illustration of a 3d Bust and hand holding a phone.

Pablo Declan for BI

Joseph Stiglitz on why America's appetite for Trump endures

Photos by Dina Litovsky

Portrait of Joseph Stiglitz

Dina Litovsky for BI

The Big Dumb Economic Lie of 2024

Illustration by Alyssa Powell

Photo collage featuring Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell, the Capitol building, red dots with the Eye of Providence Double Exposure, and a downward-trending line

Getty Images; Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

Scared your partner is cheating? Strangers on the internet are here to help — for a fee

Illustration by Natalie Ammari

photo of couple kissing with sad face stickers over their faces

Getty Images; iStock; Natalie Ammari/BI

Iran will pay for gender-transition surgery, but it comes at a cost — your dignity

Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath

Illustration of shadow figures lurking in a synagogue.

Ibrahim Rayintakath for BI

New York City's new Gilded Age

Illustration by Carl Godfrey

Lobster on a bed of Diamonds.

Carl Godfrey for BI

The pot farm massacre

Photos by Mike Simmons

Portrait of Jeremy Grable at plant growing facility.

Mike Simons for BI

From ALICEs to DINKs

Illustrations by Jimmy Simpson

Toy versions of Geriatric Millenials, Peak Boomers, and FIRE

Jimmy Simpson for BI

The best albums of 2024

Illustration by Natalie Ammari

Artists of the best albums of 2024
Clockwise from bottom left: Halsey, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Tyla, Sabrina Carpenter, and Billie Eilish.

Danica Robinson; Blair Caldwell/Parkwood; Brent McKeever; Shirlaine Forrest/Nina Westervelt/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; iStock; Natalie Ammari/BI

A founding father of Utah's VC industry is stepping back as accusations of sexual harassment surface

Illustration by Deena So'Oteh

Illustration of Greg Warnock

Deena So'Oteh for BI

The death of the nuclear family

Illustration by Mark Harris

Illustration of a family with houses in the back.

Mark Harris for BI

The online minefield of Ozempic knock-offs

Illustration by Jenny Chang-Rodriguez

Shattered photo of Ozempic.

Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

To the manor shorn

Photos by Astrid Landon

Chateau Avensac
Chateau Avensac

Astrid Landon/BI

Through the roof

Illustration by Alex Castro

A drone abducts a man from his house, against a starry black night.

Alex Castro for BI

The mismeasure of America

Illustration by Chris Gash

A stock line as the neck of an ostrich in the ground

Chris Gash for BI

The rise of the job-search bots

Illustrations by Hugo Herrera

Robots filling out stacks of resumes.

Hugo Herrera for BI

The world's meanest app

Illustration by Alvaro Dominguez

Illustration of the Duolino bird with hand tattoos.

Alvaro Dominguez for BI

It's gearing up to be a hot travel debt summer for Gen Z and millennials

Illustration by Rebecca Zisser

A woman laying on a $100 bill

iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI

Hot girls love book clubs

Illustration by Natalia Agatte

Illustration of hands holding books.

Natalia Agatte for BI

What an extra $500 to $1,000 a month did for 8 families

Design and Development by Kim Nguyen, Rebecca Zisser, Isabel Fernandez-Pujol, Photos by Jovelle Tamayo, Tim Evans, Helynn Ospina, Andre Chung, Brittany Greeson, Libby March

A selection of photos of UBI participants

Tim Evans for BI, Brittany Greeson for BI, Helynn Ospina for BI, Andre Chung for BI, Libby March for BI; Rebecca Zisser/BI

'No CCP in USA!'

Illustrations by Matt Harrison Clough

Three farm water pump windmills. One of the windmills resembles a Communist hammer and sickle symbol.

Matt Harrison Clough for BI

Drake Bell knows life is not a Disney movie

Photos by Ana Topoleanu

Drake Bell

Ana Topoleanu for BI

AI Power List 2024

Illustration by Karan Singh

Colorful shapes

Karan Singh for BI

Soup to nuts

Illustrations by Tyler Le

A bowl of Chicken soup overflowing into smaller bowls

Tyler Le/BI

The professors turned porn stars

Photos by Simone Lueck

Jow Gow and wife

Simone Lueck for BI

Inside the Billionaire Bunker

Illustration by Saratta Chuengsatiansup

Cameras and boats surrounding a residential island

Saratta Chuengsatiansup for BI

The poisoned chalice of restaurant popularity

Illustration by Valentin Tkach

Server holding tray of food being knocked off by Michelin star

Valentin Tkach for Business Insider

Gen Z's fading dream

Illustration by Abanti Chowdhury

Genz's fading dreams of fame because of AI
Gen Zers want to be influencers. But the industry is getting more competitive — and flooded with AI.

Abanti Chowdhury/BI

China's massive stimulus misfire

Illustration by Alyssa Powell

Xi Jinping holding a sparkler, preparing to launch a large cannon-fired Chinese Yuan Currency cash ball

iStock; Andres Martinez Casares/Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

Rob McElhenney is betting on himself

Photos by Sheryl Nields

Rob McElhenney

Sheryl Nields for BI

The hidden costs of traveling while gay

Illustration by Derek Abella

Illustration of a couple looking out to a sunset with cocktails.

Derek Abella for BI

The cursed inheritance

Illustrations by Nate Sweitzer

An illustration of The Duchess and her children

Nate Sweitzer for BI


Steam loops vs. doom loops

Illustration by Sam Green

A skyscraper surrounded by pipe work

Same Green for BI

This Ramadan, queer and transgender Muslims made their own community

Photos by Ramie Ahmed

Trans/queer Muslim social media influencer portrait.

Ramie Ahmed for BI

The fitness fad graveyard

Illustration by Jenny Chang-Rodriguez

Photo illustration of a tombstone with a Peloton bike.

Tingting Ji/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

Inside Microsoft's struggles with Copilot

Illustration by Chelsea Jia Feng

Microsoft logo glitching

Microsoft; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

In celebration of Black History Month

Illustration by Loveis Wise

Black History Month Illustration depicting four figures converging in unity, surrounded by an atmosphere of joy and magic

Loveis Wise for BI

Why so many Americans hate their jobs

Illustration by Ricardo Tomás

Image of a statue thinking and a briefcase.

Ricardo Tomás for BI

The new rule of homebuying

Illustration by Sebastian König

A person handing themselves a house and keys

Sebastian König for BI

Behind the data center boom

Illustration by Arif Qazi

A three-headed dog guarding a data center

Arif Qazi for BI

MDMA therapy could be legal by summer. Why are so many advocates sounding the alarm?

Illustration by Richard A. Chance

Rick Doblin

Richard A. Chance for BI

Lunden and Olivia Stallings are TikTok's lesbian power couple. Straight people love them; queer people aren't so sure.

Photos by Kendrick Brinson

Lunden & Olivia laying on a bed together

Kendrick Brinson for BI

Young Chinese are looking for dupes and cheaper substitutes for everything from Hermès to travel

Illustration by Chelsea Jia Feng

Hermes and education books being duplicated over and over again.

Hermes; Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

The plight of the girlboss

Illustrations by Kiersten Essenpreis

A woman balancing on top of a stack of briefcases

Kiersten Essenpreis for BI

America's absurd war on 'organized retail crime'

Illustration by Tara Anand

A man walks out of a store with a cart full of items, greeted by police officers outside.

Tara Anand for BI

The war within Gen Z

Illustration by Tommy Parker

Two Gen Z individuals walking away from one another

Tommy Parker for BI

Priced out of America

Illustration by Juanjo Gasull

Photo illustration of of a passport and a butterfly made of money.

Juanjo Gasull for BI

S'more! S'more!

Illustrations by Liam Eisenberg

A factory making square shaped marshmallows

Liam Eisenberg for BI

My brain on Ozempic

Photos by David Vades Joseph

Photo of Albert Fox Cahn at home.

David Vades Joseph for BI

Elon Musk is fighting wars on a lot of fronts right now

Illustration by Rebecca Zisser

Elon Musk

Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; Rebecca Zisser/BI

A trainer-heiress power couple created the fitness juggernaut Pvolve. Then came a divorce, an arrest, and Jennifer Aniston.

Illustration by Christian Northeast

Pvolve founders facing off in a studio

Getty Images; Christian Northeast for BI

The United States of Automobiles

Illustrations by Pete Ryan, Design & Development by Kim Nguyen and Randy Yeip

Illustration of Cars moving, making the American Flag.

Pete Ryan for BI

'Trump is going to win'

Photos by Jordan Vonderhaar

A collection of Republican party imagery

Jordan Vonderhaar for BI

For Gen Alpha, learning to read is becoming a privilege

Illustration by Keith Negley, Photos by Momo Takahashi and Alex Welsh

Child walking up books.

Keith Negley for BI

My breakup with ambition

Illustration by Sophi Gullbrants

Illustration of a person being overwhelmed by the phones.

Sophi Gullbrants for BI

The gutting of the Eighth Amendment

Illustration by Matt Rota, Design & Development by Randy Yeip, Kim Nguyen, Dan DeLorenzo, Rebecca Zisser, and Isabel Fernandez-Pujol

An illustration of a prison

Matt Rota for BI

Read the original article on Business Insider

How Depop's AI image-recognition tool speeds up selling for 180,000 daily listings

16 December 2024 at 08:58
A woman taking a photo of a brown tank top on a clothing hanger
Depop users can buy and sell clothing items on the platform.

Courtesy of Depop

  • Depop's new gen-AI feature creates item descriptions based on photos that users upload.
  • The tool has boosted the number of listings on the company's website and saves sellers time.
  • This article is part of "CXO AI Playbook" — straight talk from business leaders on how they're testing and using AI.

Depop is an online fashion marketplace where users can buy and sell secondhand clothing, accessories, and other products. Founded in 2011, the company is headquartered in London and has 35 million registered users. It was acquired by Etsy, an online marketplace, in 2021.

Situation analysis: What problem was the company trying to solve?

Depop's business model encourages consumers to "participate in the circular economy rather than buying new," Rafe Colburn, its chief product and technology officer, told Business Insider. However, listing items to sell on the website and finding products to buy take time and effort, which he said can be a barrier to using Depop.

"By reducing that effort, we can make resale more accessible to busy people," he said.

To improve user experience, Depop has unveiled several features powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, including pricing guidance to help sellers list items more quickly and personalized algorithms to help buyers identify trends and receive product recommendations.

In September, Depop launched a description-generation feature using image recognition and generative AI. The tool automatically creates a description for an item once sellers upload a product image to the platform.

"What we've tried to do is make it so that once people have photographed and uploaded their items, very little effort is required to complete their listing," Colburn said. He added that the AI description generator is especially useful for new sellers who aren't as familiar with listing on Depop.

Headshot of Rafe Colburn
Rafe Colburn is the chief product and technology officer of Depop.

Courtesy of Depop

Key staff and stakeholders

The AI description-generation feature was developed in-house by Depop's data science team, which trained large language models to create it. The team worked closely with product managers.

Colburn said that in 2022, the company moved its data science team from the engineering group to the product side of the business, which has enabled Depop to release features more quickly.

AI in action

To use the description generator, sellers upload an image of the item they want to list to the Depop platform and click a "generate description" button. Using image recognition and gen AI, the system generates a product description and populates item-attribute fields on the listing page, including category, subcategory, color, and brand.

The technology incorporates relevant hashtags and colloquial language to appeal to buyers, Colburn said. "We've done a lot of prompt engineering and fine-tuning to make sure that the tone and style of the descriptions that are generated really fit the norms of Depop," he added.

Sellers can use the generated description as is or adjust it. Even if they modify descriptions, sellers still save time compared to starting with "an empty box to work with," Colburn said.

Did it work, and how did leaders know?

Depop has about 180,000 new listings every day. Since rolling out the AI-powered description generation in September, the company has seen "a real uplift in listings created, listing time, and completeness of listings," Colburn said. However, as the tool was launched recently, a company spokesperson said that specific data was not yet available.

"Aside from the direct user benefits in terms of efficiency and listing quality, we have also really demonstrated to ourselves that users value features that use generative AI to reduce effort on their end," Colburn said.

Ultimately, Depop wants sellers to list more items, and the company's goal is to make it easier to do so, he added. Automating the process with AI means sellers can list items quicker, which Colburn said would create a more robust inventory on the platform, lead to more sales, and boost the secondhand market.

What's next?

Colburn said Depop continues to look for ways to apply AI to address users' needs.

For example, taking high-quality photos of items is another challenge for sellers. It's labor-intensive but important, as listings with multiple high-quality photos of garments are more likely to sell. He said Depop was exploring ways to make this easier and enhance image quality with AI.

A challenge for buyers is sometimes finding items that fit. Depop is also looking into how AI can help shoppers feel more confident that the clothing they purchase will fit so that their overall satisfaction with the platform will be enhanced, Colburn said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Shutterstock earned over $100 million in revenue thanks in part to its AI-powered image-generator tool

13 December 2024 at 09:09
A digital camera with a big lens sits on a desk and a person edits an image on a desktop computer in the background.
Shutterstock's approach to AI integration focused on the user experience.

dusanpetkovic/Getty Images

  • Shutterstock added gen AI to its stock-content library to generate $104 million in revenue.
  • The company has partnered with tech giants including Meta, Amazon, Apple, OpenAI, and Nvidia.
  • This article is part of "CXO AI Playbook" — straight talk from business leaders on how they're testing and using AI.

Shutterstock, founded in 2003 and based in New York, is a global leader in licensed digital content. It offers stock photos, videos, and music to creative professionals and enterprises.

In late 2022, Shutterstock made a strategic decision to embrace generative AI, becoming one of the first stock-content providers to integrate the tech into its platform.

Dade Orgeron, the vice president of innovation at Shutterstock, leads the company's artificial-intelligence initiatives. During his tenure, Shutterstock has transitioned from a traditional stock-content provider into one that provides several generative-AI services.

While Shutterstock's generative-AI offerings are focused on images, the company has an application programming interface for generating 3D models and plans to offer video generation.

Situation analysis: What problem was the company trying to solve?

When the first mainstream image-generation models, such as Dall-E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney, were released in late 2022, Shutterstock recognized generative AI's potential to disrupt its business.

"It would be silly for me to say that we didn't see generative AI as a potential threat," Orgeron said. "I think we were fortunate at the beginning to realize that it was more of an opportunity."

He said Shutterstock embraced the technology ahead of many of its customers. He recalled attending CES in 2023 and said that many creative professionals there were unaware of generative AI and the impact it could have on the industry.

Orgeron said that many industry leaders he encountered had the misconception that generative AI would "come in and take everything from everyone." But that perspective felt pessimistic, he added. But Shutterstock recognized early that AI-powered prompting "was design," Orgeron told Business Insider.

Key staff and stakeholders

Orgeron's position as vice president of innovation made him responsible for guiding the company's generative-AI strategy and development.

However, the move toward generative AI was preceded by earlier acquisitions. Orgeron himself joined the company in 2021 as part of its acquisition of TurboSquid, a company focused on 3D assets.

Side profile of a man with a beard wearing black glasses and a black jacket.
TK

Photo courtesy of Dade Orgeron

Shutterstock also acquired three AI companies that same year: Pattern89, Datasine, and Shotzr. While they primarily used AI for data analytics, Orgeron said the expertise Shutterstock gained from these acquisitions helped it move aggressively on generative AI.

Externally, Shutterstock established partnerships with major tech companies including Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Reka. For example, Shutterstock's partnership with Nvidia enabled its generative 3D service.

AI in action

Shutterstock's approach to AI integration focused on the user experience.

Orgeron said the company's debut in image generation was "probably the easiest-to-use solution at that time," with a simple web interface that made AI image generation accessible to creative professionals unfamiliar with the technology.

That stood in contrast to competitors such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, which, at the time Shutterstock launched its service in January 2023, had a basic user interface. Midjourney, for instance, was initially available only through Discord, an online chat service more often used to communicate in multiplayer games.

This focus on accessibility set the stage for Shutterstock.AI, the company's dedicated AI-powered image-generation platform. While Shutterstock designed the tool's front end and integrated it into its online offerings, the images it generates rely on a combination of internally trained AI models and solutions from external partners.

Shutterstock.AI, like other image generators, lets customers request their desired image with a text prompt and then choose a specific image style, such as a watercolor painting or a photo taken with a fish-eye lens.

However, unlike many competitors, Shutterstock uses information about user interactions to decide on the most appropriate model to meet the prompt and style request. Orgeron said Shutterstock's various models provide an edge over other prominent image-generation services, which often rely on a single model.

But generative AI posed risks to Shutterstock's core business and to the photographers who contribute to the company's library. To curb this, Orgeron said, all of its AI models, whether internal or from partners, are trained exclusively on Shutterstock's legally owned data. The company also established a contributor fund to compensate content creators whose work was used in the models' training.

Orgeron said initial interest in Shutterstock.AI came from individual creators and small businesses. Enterprise customers followed more cautiously, taking time to address legal concerns and establish internal AI policies before adopting the tech. However, Orgeron said, enterprise interest has accelerated as companies recognize AI's competitive advantages.

Did it work, and how did leaders know?

Paul Hennessy, the CEO of Shutterstock, said in June the company earned $104 million in annual revenue from AI licensing agreements in 2023. He also projected that this revenue could reach up to $250 million annually by 2027.

Looking ahead, Shutterstock hopes to expand AI into its video and 3D offerings. The company's generative 3D API is in beta. While it doesn't offer an AI video-generation service yet, Orgeron said Shutterstock plans to launch a service soon. "The video front is where everyone is excited right now, and we are as well," he said. "For example, we see tremendous opportunity in being able to convert imagery into videos."

The company also sees value in AI beyond revenue figures. Orgeron said Shutterstock is expanding its partnerships, which now include many of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. In some cases, partners allow Shutterstock to use their tech to build new services; in others, they license data from Shutterstock to train AI.

"We're partnered with Nvidia, with Meta, with HP. These are great companies, and we're working closely with them," he said. "It's another measure to let us know we're on the right track."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Putin has 2 daughters he barely ever talks about, and is rumored to have at least 1 more

Lyudmila Putina
Russian President Vladimir and his now ex-wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva.

Sergey Ponomarev/AP

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin has at least two daughters he rarely talks about.
  • He has two daughters with his ex-wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva: Maria and Katerina, both in their 30s.
  • Various unconfirmed reports say he has at least three other children, who he fiercely guards from the limelight.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is famously secretive about his personal life.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, April 24, 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.

AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File

Putin has long tried to shield his personal life from the spotlight.

He has rarely publicly acknowledged his children, though media outlets have for years reported that he has two daughters with his ex-wife.

Putin is also rumored to have had relationships that may have produced other, secret children, including two boys by one mistress and a girl from a later rumored affair.

Putin's family affairs are so secretive that reports of exactly how many children he may have fathered have varied over the years, as have their names.

Most recently, in November 2024, Ukrainian media reportedly tracked down one of Putin's alleged daughters, who was living in Paris and working as a DJ.

Putin had two daughters with his first wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva, a former flight attendant
Vladimir Putin Lyudmilla Wife

AP

Their daughters' names are Maria and Katerina. Maria was born in St. Petersburg in 1985, and Katerina was born in Germany in 1986.
Vladimir Putin daughters
Maria and Katerina Putin, from their father's personal archive.

Reuters

Both girls are named after their grandmothers. Maria's nickname is Masha, and Katerina's nickname is Katya.
vladimir putin parents
Putin's father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin, and his mother, Maria Ivanovna Shelomova.

Kremlin

Masha and Katya are common Russian shortenings for Maria and Katerina.

Sources: Vladimir PutinReutersNewsweek

When the family moved to Moscow in 1996, the girls attended a German-language school. The children were reportedly removed from school when Putin became acting president, and teachers educated them at home.
vladimir putin wife acting president 2000 Lyudmila
Then-acting President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila applaud during a concert after an award ceremony in Gudermes on January 1, 2000.

REUTERS

Source: Newsweek

"Not all fathers are as loving with their children as he is," Lyudmila said in an undated quote on Putin's government website. "And he has always spoiled them, while I was the one who had to discipline them."
Vladimir Putin Lyudmilla Wife

Vesti.ru screengrab

But as Putin gained political power, his children saw him less and less, according to one of his early biographers.
Then-Acting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaking to the media, with ultranationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky in the background, in Moscow, 12 August 1999
Then-Acting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks to the media after a meeting in the Duma, Russian parliament's lower house, in Moscow, 12 August 1999.

STR/AP POOL/AFP via Getty Images

His first official biographer, Natalya Gevorkyan, interviewed him and his family in 1999.

The family was soon isolated and surrounded by security after Putin became prime minister for the first time, she said.

His daughters told her that they admired their father and were proud of him, but it appeared they didn't get to see him much, she said.

Source: BBC Sounds

Putin's marriage may also have been loveless. Lyudmila "was not a happy woman" and Putin wouldn't "hold" her, his biographer said.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila (R) pray during an Orthodox Easter service in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral on April 24, 2011 in Moscow. Russia
Then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila pray during an Orthodox Easter service in Moscow in 2011 in Moscow.

Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images

"I understood that [Lyudmila] was not a happy woman. She was not," the biographer Gevorkyan said, speaking of her interviews conducted in 1999.

Gevorkyan said she had the impression Putin did not love her. She recalled Lyudmila as saying: "There are women who are admired by men, I think I am not that kind of woman. He will not hold me in his hands."

Gevorkyan said Lyudmila's tone was "more with respect" to her husband.

"I had the feeling that she really loved him," she added. "And I had a feeling that she was not that much loved back. I didn't have the feeling that it was a successful marriage for her."

Source: BBC Sounds

Putin and Lyudmila announced their divorce in 2013, although they were likely living separate lives long before that.
Head-and-shoulder shot of President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila walking through the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, on June 6, 2013, the day they announced their divorce.
Putin and Lyudmila walking through the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, on June 6, 2013, the day they announced their divorce.

Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP via Getty Images

Lyudmila had become "almost invisible" in Putin's public life, according to Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at New York's New School. 

Putin was rumored to be seeing Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, while Luydmila was believed to have begun dating businessman and triathlete Arthur Ocheretny by around 2010. 

Sources: BBC, Proekt, Politico.

Meanwhile, the daughters were growing up. Maria studied biology before medical school, while Katerina majored in Asian Studies in college. Both girls attended university under false identities.
A composite image showing headshot video stills of Maria Vorontsova, left, in 2022, and Katerina Tikhonova, right, in 2021.
As adults: Maria Vorontsova, left, in 2022, and Katerina Tikhonova, right, in 2021.

Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters / The World Russian People's Council / Insider

Sources: ReutersNewsweek

There are no official current photos of the women. For Katerina, we found the slightly varying first names of "Katerina," "Katya," and "Yekaterina," and the last names "Putina," "Tikhonova," and "Shamalov."
Katerina Tikhonova putina vladimir putin daughter
Katerina Tikhonova, daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, dances with Ivan Klimov during the World Cup Rock'n'Roll Acrobatic Competition in Krakow, Poland, on April 12, 2014.

REUTERS/Jakub Dabrowski

Sources: ReutersNewsweek

Maria is a medical researcher. According to reports, she married Dutch businessman Jorrit Faassen, although it's unclear exactly when.
A screenshot from a video presentation for the 5th Hippocratic Forum by Maria Vorontsova in 2022, showing a head and shoulders image on her on screen.
A screenshot from a video presentation for the 5th Hippocratic Forum by Maria Vorontsova in 2022.

The World Russian People's Council/YouTube

Maria appears to have a lower public profile than Katerina. Here, she is seen presenting at a 2022 pediatrics conference. 

An investigation found that between 2019 and 2022, she earned $10.7 million from her role at New Medical Company (NOMEKO). 

Sources: Current Time, ReutersNewsweekBloomberg

Maria and Faassen reportedly have a child — Putin told filmmaker Oliver Stone in 2017 that he was a grandfather. When Stone asked if he played with his grandchild, Putin replied: "Very seldom, unfortunately."
vladimir putin oliver stone the putin interviews
"The Putin Interviews" was a four-part series that premiered on Showtime in May 2017.

Showtime

Katerina, an accomplished acrobatic dancer, is a tech executive.
Katerina Putin
Katerina Tikhonova, daughter of Vladimir Putin, dancing.

Jakub Dabrowski/Reuters

She has been reported to head up Innopraktika, one of Moscow State University's initiatives to foster young scientists, as well as being deputy director of a mathematical institute there.  

In 2022 she was given a role overseeing Russian import substitutions.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, CNN, The Moscow Times.

Here she is in her dancing days at the 2013 Rock 'n' Roll World Championship in Winterthur, Switzerland, representing Russia.

 

She took fifth place at that year's final. 

Source: WRRC

Katerina married Russian billionaire Kirill Shamalov in 2013, though they are reportedly no longer together. Their wedding was a lavish affair at the Igora resort in St. Petersburg.
Kirill Shamalov
Kirill Shamalov, the former husband of Putin's daughter Katerina

Reuters/Kommersant Photo/Dmitry Dukhanin

The wedding was highly secure and included a laser show, an ice-skating display, and a mock Russian village, according to Reuters. 

A 2023 investigation found that the couple, though married by a priest in an elaborate ceremony, never formalized their vows at the registry office, as required by the Russian Orthodox Church. The report suggested this was connected to the structure of the family's vast and secretive property holdings. 

By 2018, the pair had split, according to Bloomberg

Sources: ReutersThe Guardian, Proekt   

Shamalov prospered during the marriage, racking up lucrative business interests. By the time he and Katerina split in 2018, the divorce papers revealed they were worth $2 billion.
President Vladimir Putin at the center of a group of businessmen in "Voronezhsintezkauchuk" plant, part of the SIBUR company, in Voronezh. Kirill Shamalov walks to the far right.
Russian President Putin visits "Voronezhsintezkauchuk" plant, part of the SIBUR company, in Voronezh. Shamalov is pictured at the right of the group.

Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters

As early as 2016, the couple were hardly corresponding, and Shamalov had seen lucrative shares in energy company Sibur returned to Putin's friends, a 2023 investigation reported. 

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, Proekt

Katerina made her debut on Russian state TV as a biotechnology expert in December 2018.
putin daughter yekaterina katerina
Katerina Tikhonova (R) on Rossiya 1 on December 7, 2018.

Rossiya 1

Her appearance did not include comments on her being related to Putin. The link was briefly made public in the course of a dance competition, but later retracted.

Source: Business Insider, Reuters

She has at least twice joined an event known as Russia's answer to Davos, and in 2024, Maria was also there. Both were rare appearances.
Katerina Tikhonova attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) virtually.
Katerina Tikhonova attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) virtually.

OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images

In June 2021, Katerina addressed the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum — but nobody called her Putin's daughter, apparently out of fear of reprisal from the Kremlin.

At the same event in 2024, Katerina appeared virtually, commenting on the "technological sovereignty" of the nation's military.

The following day, Maria spoke in person on a panel about biotech innovations. Programming listed her as a member of the Russian Association for the Promotion of Science, according to CNN.

Source: CNN

In 2022, it emerged that Katerina had begun a clandestine relationship with German ballet star Igor Zelensky and had a daughter with him.
German ballet star Igor Zelensky, pictured in front of a chandelier, in 2014.
Igor Zelensky, the father of Katerina's child, in 2014. In 2016 he became director of the Bavarian State Ballet.

Tobias Hase/picture alliance via Getty Images

Zelensky — no relation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — has served as the director of the Bavarian State Ballet and the Munich State Ballet. 

The relationship was revealed by a 2022 investigation that examined Katerina's flight records, showing that she traveled with members of Putin's presidential secret service.

Per the report, Katerina secretly flew to Munich more than 50 times to see Zelensky between 2017 and 2019, with their daughter in tow.

Sources: Important Stories, Der Spiegel

Meanwhile, Maria Vorontsova split with Faassen and had a child with businessman Evgeny Nagorny, independent Russian media reported.

A post shared by Barkli_rus (@barkli_rus)

 

Nagorny — who formerly showed an interest in opposition politics — has been flying around the world with Vorontsova since at least 2016, according to a joint investigation by Russian outlets Meduza and Current Time.

They had a child together, and Nagorny became the manager of major gas company Novatek, the outlets reported. 

In 2020, per the outlets, Nagorny bought a luxury Moscow apartment in the building pictured above.  

Sources: Meduza, Current Time.

There are rumors that Putin has other children with ex-girlfriend and former Russian rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva.
Alina Kabayeva Vladimir Putin
Putin greets Alina Kabaeva during a meeting with candidates to the Russian Olympic team for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

REUTERS/Pool AS

It's unclear exactly when Putin began dating the famed gymnast, but rumors were swirling long before he and Lyudmila announced their divorce. 

In a 2008 news conference in Italy, a reporter asked him about the chatter, which Putin dismissed, adding: "I always disliked people who go around with their erotic fantasies, sticking their snot-ridden noses into another person's life."

Reports have varied over the years on what children they have, with tabloid reports of the birth of a daughter in 2015.

More recently, however, an investigation reported that they have two sons. 

Neither the relationship nor the reported children have been confirmed by Russia. 

Source: New York Post, Proekt, NPR

A bombshell investigation in 2024 said that Putin and Kabaeva have 2 sons who live in seclusion and extreme luxury.

The boys are named as Ivan, born in 2015, and Vladimir Jr, born in 2019.

Business Insider could not independently verify the report. 

At Ivan's birth, according to the investigation, Putin was so happy that he shouted: 'Hurray! Finally! A boy!'

Extreme secrecy surrounds them — per the investigation, they have used "cover documents since infancy, which are mostly made for intelligence officers and people under state protection."

Source: Dossier Center

 

 

 

No publicly available images exist of Ivan and Vladimir Jr.
Alina Kabaeva vladimir putin girlfriend
Putin smiles next to Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva during a meeting with the Russian Olympic team at the Kremlin on November 4, 2004.

REUTERS/ITAR-TASS/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE

In its investigation, the Dossier Centre declined to publish images of the boys, both of whom are still children. 

The boys live at Putin's heavily protected lakeside palace at Valdai, in western Russia, according to the report. 

Source: Dossier Centre

In 2024, Ukrainian armed forces said they had flown a drone over Valdai palace, where Kabaeva and the children reportedly live.
A composite image showing a Google Earth view of Lake Valdai, western Russia, with Putin's palace compound marked with an arrow. An inset image shows a zoomed-in view of what is reportedly a Pantsir-S1 air defense system located on an island nearby, with an arrow marking its location.
Pantsir-S1 air defense marked around 3.3 miles from the Valdai Palace compound, as of July 2024.

Google Earth/Business Insider

The drone was on its way to attack a St Petersburg oil terminal as part of a spate of attacks on Russian energy facilities, Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine's minister of strategic industries, said. 

An unnamed special services official said that it had managed to evade the extensive defenses at Valdai

A few months later, it emerged that Russia's armed forces had moved much-needed air defenses closer to the palace to protect it. 

Source: Kyiv Independent, RBC Ukraine, Radio Liberty

 

Reports have also claimed that a former cleaning lady, Svetlana Krivonogikh, once had an affair with Putin and moved into one of St. Petersburg's wealthiest neighborhoods.
An aerial view of St Petersburg's prestigious Birch Alley, where one of Putin's rumored mistresses was reported to live.
An aerial view of St. Petersburg's prestigious Birch Alley, where one of Putin's rumored mistresses was reported to live.

Google Earth

Independent investigations have reported that the pair had a close friendship between the late 1990s and the end of the 2010s, which resulted in a daughter.

In that time, Krivonogikh went from a former cleaning lady to the billionaire owner of one of Putin's favorite ski resorts.

Sources: ProektOrganized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

Krivonogikh's daughter, who was born in 2003, is named Elizaveta Vladimirovna Rozova and goes by Luisa. Identity papers do not indicate a father, but her middle name means "daughter of Vladimir." She has not confirmed any relationship.
A Google Earth image of St Petersburg's elite Birch Alley complex.
A Google Earth image of St Petersburg's elite Birch Alley complex.

Google Earth

A Proekt investigation remarked on Elizaveta's "phenomenal resemblance" to Putin and many connections between the president and her mother. Images reportedly from her social profiles show a striking resemblance to Putin. But no relationship has been proven.

In a 2021 magazine interview, Elizaveta's face was not depicted. 

Asked about the resemblance, she agreed, but said "there are a lot of people similar to Vladimir Vladimirovich," using an alternative, respectful name for Putin.

Sources: Proekt, Russian GQ

Elizaveta appears to have led a vibrant life as a DJ and fashion businesswoman in Moscow and Paris.

In a bizarre turn of events, Andrey Zakharov, the journalist who first reported on Elizaveta, got added to a Clubhouse chat with her in 2021.

"I live in my own bubble," she reportedly said, adding that she doesn't pay attention to the news.

"I watch fashion shows, I buy copies of Vogue, and I love to go to the nearby restaurant and eat tasty pasta, dishing with friends about the latest gossip and investigations."

Source: TSN, Meduza

But at the start of the invasion of Ukraine, commenters reportedly mobbed her social media — which she then deleted.
Paris
Elizaveta has reportedly studied in Paris. Image for illustration purposes only.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

An investigation published in 2024 reported that she went suddenly off-grid, changing her name to Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova. 

An Elizaveta Rudnova was registered to study at a private art and culture management school in Paris between 2020 and 2024, the report said. 

In November 2024, Ukrainian media reportedly tracked down Rudnova, who was living in Paris and working as a DJ.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify the report. 

Source: TSN, The Telegraph

 

In late 2020, Putin announced Russia had finalized its COVID-19 vaccine. He said he gave the shot to one of his daughters, but wouldn't specify which one.
Vladimir Putin coronavirus vaccine
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a remote meeting with members of the government on August 11, 2020.

Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS

In February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. No statement came from Katerina or Maria, but scrutiny of their families ramped up.
Putin villa biaritz
An image showing an activist flying a Ukrainian flag from the balcony of a villa linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Biarritz, France.

Russia Today

In March 2022, an activist broke into a property owned by Katerina's ex-husband Kirill Shamalov in Biarritz, France, saying he was going to use it to host Ukrainian refugees.

More than a year later, as the war dragged on, Dutch authorities seized land belonging to Maria's ex-husband Jorrit Faassen, who was under suspicion of evading sanctions. 

Sources: Insider, The Insider, The Guardian

In April 2022, the US sanctioned Maria and Katerina, saying that they had "enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people."
Vladimir Putin Katerina Tikhonova

Getty/Reuters

A White House statement said: "This action cuts them off from the US financial system and freezes any assets they hold in the United States."

The UK quickly followed suit, saying it was targeting Maria and Katerina's "lavish lifestyles." 

The announcement also contained more details about their work.

Tikhonova's work supports Russia's government and defense industry, while Vorontsova's genetics research programs are personally overseen by Putin, the White House said.

Source: White House, ABC News

 

 

The US said it believed the women were hiding assets for Putin, which was its rationale for sanctioning them. The Kremlin suggested the move was anti-Russian.
Vladimir Putin

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

"We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden with family members and that's why we're targeting them," a senior Biden administration official said, according to ABC News.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's top spokesperson, said the Kremlin found the decision "difficult to understand" and framed it as part of a "rabid" Western animosity toward Russia.

Since 2022, the list of countries that have slapped sanctions on Maria and Katerina has only grown.

The US, UK, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan have all imposed sanctions on them.

Sources: ABC News, Reuters, Associated Press, Reuters, Reuters, Japan Times, New Zealand Herald

 

In July 2022, as sanctions began to bite in Russia, Katerina was given a top post overseeing import substitutions.
Putin meets with the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin in Moscow, Russia March 2, 2022
Putin meeting with the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, in March 2022.

Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters

Tikhonova was appointed to a position at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, known as RSPP.

Putin critics speculated that the shakeup at RSPP, a key Russian business lobby, was done to help bolster the country's lagging economy, which remains heavily dependent on foreign imports and has suffered from the bevy of international sanctions imposed due to the war in Ukraine. 

State media reporting on Tikhonova's appointment didn't mention her relationship to Putin.

Sources: RBC, Fortune

In the summer of 2022, the US added Kabaeva to its sanctions list, citing her "close relationship" with Putin.
Alina Kabaeva, smiling and wearing a sequinned dress, at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia, July,14,2018.
Alina Kabaeva pictured in Moscow in July 2018.

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

The US government had initially held off sanctioning Kabaeva on the basis that it would be too personal a provocation to Putin — a reservation that suggests the White House, at least, is in no doubt about their relationship.

But Kabaeva was finally sanctioned in August 2022 over her ties to the Russian government. 

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, US Treasury

Svetlana Krivonogikh was the last woman connected to Putin to feel the weight of sanctions.
Drone footage of the Lake Valdai property.
Drone footage of the Lake Valdai property.

Navalny.com

In February 2023, the UK sanctioned Krivonogikh. 

The UK government made no specific reference to a personal connection to Putin, although it did say she was one of five people "connected to Putin's luxury residences," including his luxury compound at Valdai.

It also said that she is "a shareholder in Bank Rossiya and the National Media Group, that consistently promotes the Russian assault in Ukraine."

Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

 

In early February 2023, Kabaeva made a rare speech, where she said Russia's media is as powerful as a Kalashnikov rifle in war.
A screenshot from CNN coverage of a speech by Alina Kabaeva in early February 2023. Kabaeva talks in front of a blue background. The chyron reads: "Putin's reputed girlfriens likens propaganda to a Kalashnnnikov."
A screenshot from CNN coverage of a speech by Alina Kabaeva in early February 2023.

CNN

Kabaeva made the speech to the National Media Group.

Her praise of "war correspondents" came just a couple of weeks ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Sources: Insider, Newsweek

 

In March 2023, the Innopraktika Institute, headed up by Katerina, scolded Russian youth for not being patriotic enough online.
Katerina Tikhonova's face on a large screen above a spotlighted round table at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2021
Katerina Tikhonova on screen at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2021

Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

The report, which examined young people's social media activity, likened the drop in patriotism to a hybrid special military operation waged against Russia by foreign countries — using language more associated with how Putin characterizes his own invasion of Ukraine. 

Sources: The Moscow Times, Rozkomnadzor

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