In 2025, Forbes Kazakhstan estimated the net worth of entrepreneur Timur Turlov, CEO and founder of Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp., at $5.8 billion. A number like that grabs attention—it sounds like luxury jets and private islands. However, the reality is far more grounded—and more interesting. That figure isn’t a reflection of what he has in his personal bank account, but the market capitalization of something he and his team have built: a diversified digital ecosystem designed not just for profitability, but for resilience, scalability, and long-term impact.
Timur Turlov’s story is not one of overnight wealth, but of the methodical creation of a business that spans across sectors most founders would consider too complex or too regulated. What is the foundation of Freedom Holding, and how does each layer add strategic value to the whole?
Every empire needs a cornerstone, and for Timur Turlov’s company, it was brokerage. The brokerage business was the space where Freedom first became a serious player, and it has since matured into a high-performing, cash-generating engine. The company no longer needs to invest heavily for it to continue delivering results. While growth in this vertical has naturally slowed, the expansion of the brokerage business is far from over. It’s still entering new markets, with licenses nearing completion in the UAE (B2B) and Turkey (retail). Brokerage remains one of the three core pillars of Freedom Holding.
The banking business is where real acceleration is happening, and Timur Turlov’s vision involves prioritizing long-term value over short-term gain.
“We’re not focused on immediate profitability. Instead, we’re building customer loyalty through revenue-sharing models, rich loyalty programs, and a SuperApp that’s as functional as it is fun. In January 2025 alone, we added 800,000 new users,” Timur Turlov says.
Freedom Holding continues to expand its banking operations globally. In Tajikistan, it is rolling out a fully digital bank tailored to local needs—mortgages, card infrastructure, and deep integration with the country’s digital government systems.
“We’ve learned to thrive even in low-margin, high-volume environments. That’s where real efficiency lives,” the CEO Timur Timur notes.
Not every tech entrepreneur dreams of selling insurance—but maybe they should. Insurance has also become a major pillar of Freedom Holding’s ecosystem. In the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 it generated nearly $200 million in revenue.
“Insurance fits seamlessly into everything else we do. Users of our banking app can get insured or seek investment advice—all from the same place. That’s not just convenience—it’s strategy. Every interaction increases lifetime value and strengthens the fabric of the ecosystem,” Timur Turlov commented.
But outside of the three core businesses, other areas are equally exciting. Timur Turlov didn’t buy a telecom company—he built one. Quality mattered, and legacy infrastructure was getting in the way of innovation. Freedom Holding has already invested $230 million in the sector, with a long-term plan to invest over $1 billion. Free from outdated systems and unnecessary intermediaries, the company is deploying the latest tech directly.
Telecom will be tightly integrated into Freedom Holding’s SuperApp.
“With an estimated 30%–40% market share, telecom could eventually add a significant amount to our market cap. That’s the kind of compounding we believe in,” Turlov says.
Recently, Freedom Holding surprised many by acquiring Sary-Arka Airport in Karaganda—but for Turlov, it made perfect sense.
“If you’re building an e-commerce ecosystem, fast and reliable logistics aren’t optional—they’re mission-critical. Sary-Arka is close to Astana, has room to scale, and isn’t bottlenecked like larger hubs. We’re investing in its terminal modernization and developing warehousing and freight capacity,” Turlov explained.
You can’t scale without insight. That’s why the company created OnInvest, a global media platform for investment analytics. It’s already integrated into the TraderNet terminal and available in some 20 languages—designed not for local audiences, but for global export.
Timur Turlov also received the license to publish Tatler in the Turkic world. It may be a glossy lifestyle magazine, but beneath the surface lies a solid business. It now leads its category in ad revenue, and the team sees real opportunity in high-end content verticals. Media, for them, is a strategic lever: it informs, attracts, and amplifies everything else they’re building.
Each segment—whether it’s fintech, telecom, insurance, aviation, or media—is designed not to operate in isolation, but to feed into a larger, smarter whole. The bank brings in users. Insurance retains them. Telecom connects them. Media informs them. Logistics moves their goods.
This is how Freedom Holding thinks about value creation: not as standalone wins, but as layers in a system. A system that compounds over time.
