Viral image of Zelenskyy and wife posing with bundles of cash is fake

What is the claim?

Several social media users have posted an image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, posing in front of a table covered in stacks of $100 bills. One of the posts by an X (formerly Twitter) user has garnered over 27,100 views and over 6000 likes, accompanied by a caption, "Spoiler Alert: Zelensky is not the good guy." 

Screenshots of the viral posts. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Another user on X wrote, "Zelenskyy is NOT a good man." The archives of these posts can be seen here and here. We also found several such old posts from 2022 and earlier last month in 2024 (archived here and here).

However, we found that the viral image is fake and has been fabricated by combining photographs of former American boxer Floyd Mayweather and another depicting Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska.

What are the facts?

Upon a reverse image search, we found the original photo (archived here) on Instagram, which shows Floyd Mayweather posing in front of lots of money. Mayweather posted the image on his official Instagram account in July 2019. 

The photo is credited to an Instagram account @moneyyaya and is captioned as, "This is what I've been hearing for 23 years... 'All Mayweather does is brag about his cars, his jewelry, his mansions, his ladies, his clothes and his money'. And this is what Mayweather says back... 'I'm happy y'all spent over 2 decades hating on me instead of building your own legacy" 😂 P.S. I'm here to stay. Photo Credit: @moneyyaya"

We noted several similarities between the original and the viral photo, which seemed to be an edited version of the Mayweather photo. The $100 bills are stacked similarly, and the bills on the floor in both images are similar. A similar watch that Mayweather is wearing in the original photo can also be seen in the viral photo.

Screenshots of the original and the viral photo. (Source: floydmayweather/Instagram/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What about the other photo?

Upon reverse image search, we found a similar photo of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska captured together on the website of Vogue, a US-based fashion and lifestyle magazine. The picture was published along with other images of the duo in a story by Vogue published on July 26, 2022, titled "Portrait of Bravery: Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska." 

Furthermore, the photos were credited to Annie Leibovitz, an American portrait photographer. They, along with the particular photo showing Zelenskyy and Olena together, could also be found on her official Instagram account (archived here), captioned as "First Lady Olena Zelenska and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyiv, Ukraine, July 2022 / For @VogueMagazine To Be Featured In Vogue Magazine, October 2022."

The fabrication

It became clear that the particular photo of the duo was modified and inserted into the pre-existing photograph featuring Floyd Mayweather posing in front of stacks of money. The background of the viral image matched that of Mayweather's original picture. The fabrication became more evident when a closer look revealed that the arms of the duo in the viral image had been awkwardly digitally altered. Also, neither of them was wearing a watch in the original Vogue photograph. Yet, Zelenskyy appeared to be wearing one in the viral image, similar to the watch worn by Mayweather.

Screenshots of the original and the viral photo. (Source: Vogue/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

This is not the first time Zelenskyy and his wife have become the target of mis/disinformation through allegations of embezzlement and opulence. Such claims have been surfacing since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Logically Facts has earlier debunked multiple such false and misleading claims.

The verdict

The viral image purportedly depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, posing in front of large stacks of cash is fake. The photo was fabricated by combining photographs of former American boxer Floyd Mayweather and a separate image of Zelenskyy and Olena, who were captured together for Vogue magazine.