A kid who ruffled Elon Musk’s feathers by recording every trip he took has now turned his attention to Russian oligarchs, launching a new Twitter account that permits real-time tracking of every flight the country’s wealthiest billionaires take. If his interactions with Musk are any indication, this adolescent will not readily succumb to pressure, even if he is promised large sums of money. Russian Oligarch Jets is a Twitter account created by 19-year-old Jack Sweeney that uses publicly accessible flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange to alert followers when oligarchs are on the move.
The oligarchs have been on the move in jets and helicopters across the world, despite many nations’ airspace being blocked to them, likely feeling the sting of Western sanctions that have seized many of their assets, blocked Russian businesses from international trading, and prevented foreign banks from lending money to many Russian entities. A large part of this campaign is likely to prevent the seizure of valuable assets such as aircraft and yachts. As part of the numerous sanctions placed on Russia, the US is now “hunting” oligarch assets, even forming a taskforce to oversee the seizure of important assets.
Vladimir Potanin, Norilsk Nikel, Roman Abramovich, and seven other billionaires are now under investigation. They are among the wealthiest Russian businessmen alive. The tracker has already seen Alexander Abromov’s plane return to Moscow from London, as well as Roman Abramovich’s plane return to Moscow. Sweeney also has a separate account dedicated only to Putin and any VIP planes that he may use, though he warns that it may not be completely accurate because ADS-B coverage in Russia isn’t always optimal.
It’s unclear if the oligarchs are aware of the account or care – after all, the data is public; Sweeney’s accounts just make it easier to observe. Previous subjects of Sweeney’s examination, on the other hand, did not take it well. Sweeney also maintains an account named Elon Musk’s Jet, which follows the world’s richest man’s private jet as it goes around the globe. It was launched in June 2020 and utilized public data to highlight Musk’s travels, but the billionaire came out to Sweeney and offered $5,000 to end the tracking, claiming a “security concern.” Sweeney replied that he would quit doing it if Musk paid him $50,000 in exchange. The account is still sending regular updates, so it clearly wasn’t a $50,000 security concern.
