As a result, the richest Russians have a total fortune of $335bn while their fellow tycoons in Central and Eastern Europe have only half that between them. The richest Czechs have $81bn altogether, the richest Poles $73bn, and the richest Hungarians only $35bn.

According to the study by the British financial consultancy Scorpio Partnership - based on consultations with private banks, fund managers and other experts - Russian multimillionaires lead in almost every category.

But the Czech Republic, a medium-sized economy, leads in one area - they have the largest number of fortunes in the $5-10m category.

At the beginning, this growth in wealth led to very high spending, but more recently, demand has been growing for personalised private banking services, although this is still very much a fledgling sector by comparison with its western equivalent. According to the report's authors, private banking is one area in the financial services sector which is still ripe for further development. Prospects are best in the Czech Republic, the authors say.