Timur Turlov, founder and CEO of Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding, is turning media into another pillar of his diversified, multi-industry business assets. From business news, investment and educational content to radio, television and streaming, it is becoming a way to expand the reach of its broader business ecosystem.
Going On Air
One of the companies owned by Timur Turlov, Turlov Private Holding, became a co-owner of the Kapital publishing house in Kazakhstan, as well as five other Kazakh companies involved in radio and television broadcasting. Forbes Kazakhstanreported the deal on August 3. According to Forbes, in addition to the Kapital publishing house, the transaction included stakes in Grand FM, which owns Love Radio; SETA, which operates Love Radio in Kyzylorda; Tamasha FM (Radio Dacha); Toi Duman, which owns the eponymous TV and radio channels; and Umax, the operator of Umax FM.
Of the newly acquired assets, Kapital is the most significant in terms of its business audience. The publishing house owns Kapital.kz, a popular business news outlet covering economic, business and financial developments in Kazakhstan and abroad.
A Media Mix
These acquisitions add to a media portfolio that Timur Turlov has been building for some time.
Kazakh media reported that his other media holdings are grouped under Kursiv Media Holding, a Kazakh company owned by Turlov Private Holding. They include Oninvest.com, an investment news platform launched in early 2025 and focused on global public markets, and Kursiv, a 20-year-old international media outlet with a strong business focus. Kursiv publishes in Russian, Kazakh and English, as well as Uzbek in Uzbekistan.
According to Kazakh media reports, the Kursiv Media Holding portfolio also includes The Tenge, which operates the business news website the-tenge.kz, and media group QALAM. The latter runs QALAM, a multimedia project in Kazakh, Russian and English focused on the history and culture of Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the Turkic world and launched by Timur Turlov himself.
The portfolio also includes CloverStreet Production, a full-cycle film production company, and United Research Technologies Group, a Kazakh research firm specializing in comprehensive sociological, market and economic research.
Tatler Kazakhstan is another part of Turlov’s media portfolio. In 2024, Turlov announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Tatler Asia covering editions in Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The Kazakhstan edition has since launched under Tatler Kazakhstan. Turlov serves as chairman of the board of the new regional media holding.
Inside the Ecosystem
With the latest deals, Turlov’s media portfolio now spans the full breadth of industry, from print, digital and educational media projects to radio and television broadcasting. The acquisitions also fit into Freedom Holding’s strategy of developing its own media ecosystem alongside its fintech, telecommunications and digital services.
According to Freedom’s SEC filings for the fiscal year 2026 ended 31st of March 2026, in fiscal 2024, the Holding established Freedom Media as a subsidiary of Freedom Telecom. It is intended to develop into a national media platform in Kazakhstan, offering streaming services to customers in Kazakhstan and the broader Central Asia region. The platform provides access to a library of more than 5,000 titles, including television series, films and documentaries from major international studios, as well as original content produced in-house. It also offers more than 100 television channels and a dedicated children’s section. Its sports offering includes regular broadcasts of football, UFC, tennis, basketball and hockey, as well as live coverage of major events, including the UEFA Champions League and other global competitions. Freedom Media also develops proprietary content, including original series and special projects, and is integrated into the Freedom SuperApp ecosystem.
Traffic is the Currency
Timur Turlov sees media not only as a standalone business, but also as a way to bring users into the broader ecosystem. In an interview with Forbes Kazakhstan in late 2024, while explaining the creation of Freedom Media, he said that high-quality content can generate significant user traffic: someone may come to the platform to watch a movie or series and then go on to use other services offered by the group, from banking and insurance to travel and shopping. “Media is always the biggest source of traffic,” Turlov said, adding that a successful series could bring hundreds of thousands of customers into the ecosystem.
At the same time, Timur Turlov sees media as a growing business in its own right. In the same interview, he spoke about building a national media platform in Kazakhstan that would go beyond aggregating content, commissioning original productions and securing rights from major international studios.
He takes a similar approach to his wider media portfolio. In a late-2025interview with Kazakh media outlet Kursiv, Turlov described the media side of the ecosystem as a space for entertainment and content. He said modern media should not simply capture people’s attention but help them better understand the world around them: “People today don’t need someone to think for them; they need someone to help them understand.”
Media therefore serves Turlov’s multi-industry ecosystem as a channel for attracting users and a way to create additional value for them.
Beyond the Headlines
The ecosystem of the Kazakhstan-based, Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding, which operates in 22 countries, spans brokerage, banking, insurance, telecommunications and lifestyle businesses, from a marketplace and ticketing service to travel.
The group’s international expansion accelerated in 2026. In August, Freedom Holding completed its acquisition of Turkish Bank A.Ş., laying the groundwork for a full-service financial platform in Turkey combining banking, brokerage and investment services. In December 2025, the group’s brokerage subsidiary, Freedom Broker Global Markets, received authorization to conduct brokerage activities in Abu Dhabi, strengthening the group’s presence in the UAE financial market. In June 2026, Freedom Holding also applied for a banking license in France, which, if approved, would complement Freedom’s brokerage business in Europe.
The group’s financial performance underscores its growing scale. Freedom Holding generated a record $2.19 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, compared with $2.00 billion a year earlier. Net income more than doubled, reaching $153.3 million versus $76.2 million in fiscal 2025. According to Freedom, its digital ecosystem has more than 14 million users across its markets, including partner programs. According to Nasdaq data, Freedom Holding Corp.’s market capitalization exceeded $9 billion as of early August 2026.
Timur Turlov remains the company’s largest shareholder, holding a 66.46% stake in Freedom Holding Corp. According to Forbes’ Real Time Net Worth, his net worth exceeded $6 billion as of early August 2026, placing him among the world’s wealthiest individuals. Forbes also included Turlov in its global “40 Under 40: The Richest Self-Made Billionaires Under 40” ranking, published on December 29, 2025. He ranked 10th, with an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion.
