Russian-born quant trader named UK’s biggest taxpayer

XTX Markets founder Alex Gerko has earned the status of biggest taxpayer in the UK, after building a quantitative trading firm that made him a billionaire several times over.

The former Deutsche Bank AG trader contributed about £487.4 million (S$792 million) to Britain’s public finances over the past year or so, according to The Sunday Times’ list of the top 100 taxpayers in the country.

Founded eight years ago, London-based XTX handles almost US$300 billion in daily volume across equities, commodities, currency and fixed income. The firm paid a dividend of almost £1.3 billion in March 2022 as it reaped the benefits of volatile markets.

Tim Moxon, a spokesperson for XTX, declined to comment on the tax list.

Originally from Russia, Gerko is now a British citizen. As a UK tax resident along with XTX, he previously said he was happy to hand over the “tonne” of levies he was paying, and that he was in favour of wealth taxes.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index found that the 43-year-old had a fortune of US$6.4 billion through his majority stake in XTX. He started his career trading equities at Deutsche Bank, and later shifted to foreign exchange. He left in 2009 to join hedge fund GSA Capital before starting XTX. 

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XTX employs more than 170 people in offices spanning New York, Paris and Singapore. Gerko runs the firm with co-chief executive Zar Amrolia, a fellow Deutsche Bank alumnus. Profits of the firm are shared with partners.

Gerko replaced Denise Coates at the top of The Sunday Times’ ranking. The Bet365 Group founder slipped to second place on the list, with an estimated contribution of £460 million. BLOOMBERG