Arsen Tomsky, founder and chief executive of the ride-hailing service inDrive, arrived in Almaty and decided to refresh his wardrobe. At the Esentai Mall, the shopping center closest to him, clothing prices surprised the entrepreneur, whose fortune is estimated at $865 million, according to infohub.kz.
The businessman shared his impressions on the social network Threads. He said he had not been in Almaty since the beginning of June. Upon returning to the city, he found he had little clothing and headed to the nearest shopping mall.
"I'm not exactly the poorest person, to put it mildly, but who the hell buys all these little T-shirts for $1,000? And more importantly, why?" Tomsky wrote.
The post drew nearly 103,000 views and sparked lively discussion. Users argued about clothing prices in Kazakhstan and shared their own shopping experiences.
One commenter said that in the spring, a pair of New Balance sneakers cost 129,000 tenge in Astana, while he bought the same pair in China for 36,000 tenge. Nike jeans that cost 96,000 tenge in Kazakhstan, he said, were available at a Nike Factory Store for 19,000 tenge.
"There's really no desire to buy things in Kazakhstan," "When I grow up, I'll be like Arsen — rich but understanding the value of money," "Brands abroad are much cheaper than at Esentai. Better to buy there. If you want to show off to those around you, then better here. Purely for the sake of pomp," users wrote.
Notably, according to the Forbes Kazakhstan ranking, in 2026 Tomsky holds 12th place among the 75 wealthiest businessmen in Kazakhstan. The publication estimates his fortune at $865 million. The main source of the entrepreneur's wealth is the IT business.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that about 470 million tenge may have been spent on organizing the wedding of inDrive founder Arsen Tomsky and Kamila Lukpanova in Istanbul. The two-day celebration on the shores of the Bosphorus brought together about 250 guests.