10 Things We Learned During Billionaires' Battle - ABC News

The $5.6 billion legal clash between Russian oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich offered a rare window into the lives of the fabulously wealthy. With judge Elizabeth Gloster ruling Friday in Abramovich's favor, let's look back at 10 things we learned during the testimony:

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1. OLIGARCHS DON'T PUT ANYTHING IN WRITING.

Gloster pointed out that almost all aspects of the alleged agreements between Berezovsky and Abramovich were in dispute, largely because many of the alleged deals were made verbally. No one even took notes.

Abramovich said the cloud this created was partly intentional: He claimed he went along with the fiction that Berezovsky owned part of Abramovich's company, Sibneft, because Berezovsky's political capital helped protect the business.

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1. AN OFFICE IS NO PLACE TO MEET.

Even when they were doing business, the two men rarely met in conventional places of business. Their meetings took place at all sorts of exotic and exclusive sites: Berezovsky's club in Moscow; on the Riviera; in the French Alps; at the Dorchester Hotel in London; in private planes and super-yachts; and at various heliports and airports.

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1. OLIGARCHS DON'T NEED TO DRESS UP.

In one of the trial's most colorful scenes, Abramovich said Berezovsky arrived at a high-stakes meeting in 2000 at London's Dorchester Hotel wearing a dressing gown and looking disheveled. Berezovsky, who did not confirm his wardrobe choice, claimed that the description was an attempt to smear him and paint him as a Godfather-like mafia figure.

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1. A MILLION DOLLARS IS NOTHING.

Abramovich said Berezovsky was down to his last $1 million when he fled from Russia in 2000.

"He would not have lived long on that," Abramovich testified.

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1. WITNESSES ARE MORE EFFECTIVE WHEN THEY HAVE AN INCENTIVE.

Berezovsky admitted in court that he had promised two potential witnesses 1 percent shares of his judgment — potentially tens of millions of dollars — if he won his case.

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1. AN OLIGARCH IS MOST VULNERABLE WHEN SHOPPING.

It wasn't easy for Berezovsky to serve notice that he intended to sue Abramovich. He told The Associated Press that he carried the legal papers in his car for six months while he tried to track Abramovich down, once making a trip 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of London.

"I even flew to Manchester to game between Manchester United and Chelsea, but he was with 20 bodyguards. It was impossible to give him papers," Berezovsky said at the time.

Berezovsky finally got his chance on London's swank Sloane Square, when he spotted Abramovich shopping in a Hermes boutique. Berezovsky walked in, to the horror of Abramovich's security detail, and served him.

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1. EVERY HOUSE NEEDS A ROOF.

The Russian word most bandied about during the trial was "krysha," which means roof. It also means political patronage that blurred the line between business, politics and shady mafia dealings.

Abramovich testified that in the 1990s, it was impossible for anyone to build up a major business without the help of someone with business and political connections. That someone was Berezovsky, who he claimed demanded millions of dollars in return for protection.