[39], Prokhorov controls, and is one of the largest investors in, Sensorium Corp, a virtual reality company. In 2008, after developer Harry Macklowe defaulted on a $513 million loan from Deutsche Bank AG, the super-liquid Prokhorov swooped in and offered to buy the Park Avenue site in question for $250 million. Isnt that why we all seem to end up here? [16], In September 2009, he made an offer to buy a controlling interest in the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association and half of a project to build a new arena in Brooklyn. A few feet away, n+1 editor Kostya Gessenyou may know him as Keithand his girlfriend, Emily Gould, are chatting with Very Short List editor Alex Abramovich. Though he placed behind a victorious Putin (who, according to Russian election officials, garnered more than 60 percent of the vote) and Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov (about 17 percent), he edged out far-right Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky and social democratic A Just Russia leader Sergey Mironov for a third-place finish (nearly 8 percent). [13], Onexim purchased Sidanko, which was a part of the Novolipetsk metallurgical industrial complex, and also the Novorossiisk marine shipping company and a large share of the Northwest marine shipping company. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. [5] Mikhail Prokhorov's sister, Irina, who "runs his philanthropic organizations, an erudite literary magazine, and a publishing house lives in a wing of his mansion west of Moscow". In November 1995, Onexim Bank won 38% of Norilsk Nickel in a loans-for-shares auction for US$170.1million, US$100,000 (or less than 1%) higher than the bid starting price. [56] In 2015, Prokhorov resigned as leader of the party and left it. In 1993 the partners formed United Export Import Bank (UNEXIM), with Prokhorov as chairman and Potanin as president. Another 81 are divorced, 6 are separated. Prokhorov has already floated a $12 million to $15 million offer to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, openly plans to court LeBron James and other top free agents, and during his recent visit to the city promised to bring the team a championship in five years. He also hopes to raise the sports profile back in Russia and perhaps groom future stars there. They arrested 25 other suspects. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbechev addressed the Forbes 75th anniversary. [6] Russia gave them mystery, New York (and Jewishness) gave them a place on the Roth-Malamud-Lethem continuum. My own involvement with Snob began in the summer of 2008. Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev has died at age 91, according to multiple reports, more than three decades after he led an unprecedented era of economic reform in the Soviet state that preceded the fall of communism in eastern Europe. She apparently went back to the movie star more than a year ago, making Sagi available again. The pithy question is Kegeless idea for the centerpiece of Snobs New York marketing campaign, set to hit the city in September. The program alleged that: "Kremlin leaders gave him what amounts to an insiders opportunity to buy one of the state's most valuable assets. Dmitri Prokhorov was trained as a lawyer and handled international relations for the Soviet Committee of Physical Culture and Sport. [26], Prokhorov owns a number of international investments. ", "Russia billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to challenge Putin", " .. Kent Smith "Putin strongly suggested he sell the Nets," the source. ONEXIM purchased a small bank, renaming it IFC[23] (for the bank which Prokhorov had run in the early 1990s). He does not have any children yet as well. Following these bogus auctions, the majority stakes in some of the biggest Russian companies were acquired by a small number of major banks at abysmally low prices. His wife worked as an engineer for a research group at the institute specializing in plastics. Onexim and its affiliates were the winning bidders at the Norilsk Nickel and other auctions they conducted. The suit claims that Rodchenkov defamed three Russian biathletes Olga Zaytseva, Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina when Rodchenkov included them on a list of athletes who took performance-enhancing drugs as part of a state-controlled program that corrupted the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Prokhorov was born in Moscow to Tamara and Dmitri Prokhorov. The late designer was known for his misogynistic and racist comments. Guys like Prokhorov, says a source whos seen the bid, are always looking to get in at opportunistic prices. [citation needed], In September 2008, ONEXIM Group acquired 50% of Renaissance Capital,[22] a major Russian investment bank which has reportedly encountered liquidity problems. When the dust cleared, Norilsks stock had dropped 80 percent, Deripaska was $24.6 billion poorer, and Potanin lost a fortune, too. Prokhorov was born in Moscow to Tamara and Dmitri Prokhorov. Being a Russian oligarch these days isn't easy. One of ONEXIM Group's divisions focuses on the development of nanotechnology investing in high-technology projects such as white LEDs. and real estate development (Open Investments). 60 Minutes, the American news program, interviewed Prokhorov. When Mikhail Prokhorovgangly, boyish, 45, and a billionaire seventeen times overannounced his purchase of the New Jersey Nets and a majority stake of their yet-unbuilt arena at the Atlantic Yards, he leaped into the citys collective consciousness with a speed unusual for any foreigner, let alone a Russian. Shteyngarts ascent opened the floodgates for Russian-identified New York writers of every possible pedigree, age, and talent level. The magazines idea was not Prokhorovs. [67], Walden said he believes Prokhorov's lawsuit was intentionally designed to uncover Rodchenkov's whereabouts in the United States and allow agents of the Russian government to find him. Not all of Prokhorovs investments can be explained by rational self-interest. All Rights Reserved. He ran against Vladimir Putin in Russia's 2012 presidential race, gaining 8% of the vote. [5] His father, one of eight children, grew up poor, after his family "lost everything and was forced to flee from one part of Siberia and restart life in another". What category did Dua Lipa, Pedro Pascal, Anne Hathaway fit into? Mikhail Prokhorov, in full Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov, (born May 3, 1965, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.), Russian businessman who made his fortune in the wake of the Soviet Unions collapse by buying shares in formerly state-run corporations. Brooklyn Nets former owner Mikhail Prokhorov, of Russia, holds a news conference before an NBA basketball game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Brooklyn Nets in New York, April 8, 2015. Mikhail Prokhorov, who built a fortune in nickel mining and used to own the Brooklyn Nets NBA team, is betting that VR is the future of music shows. UNEXIM obtained full control of Norilsk in 1997 when the government defaulted on the loan. They died within a year of each other, both from heart disease when they were in their late 50s. Prokhorov was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the incident apparently upset Vladimir Potanin, Prokhorovs longtime partner in his primary cash cow, Norilsk Nickel. Scouring the ranks we came up with a list of some of the most eligible but many of these supposed bachelors have steady girlfriends. [62], On 4 March 2012 presidential polling, Prokhorov gained 7.98% of the vote. I have worked for three of these people, tried to curry promotional favor with two, publicly feuded with three more, and competed for a woman with one, and thats not counting all the free vodka from Roman. Here are the factors I consider essential for determining if an employee is a yes for my company. [12], When cash privatization eventually replaced the failing voucher privatization phase, the government came up with a scheme to leverage the privatization process and quickly raise money for its cash-strapped operations. At the time, Norilsk produced 25% of the world's nickel output. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. He had previously been involved in Komsomol, the Soviet youth league, and eventually joined the Communist Party. Prokhorov had already established himself as a major figure in the New York property market before the Atlantic Yards deal. Tamir Sapir, who was born Temur Sepiashvili in Georgia and made his first fortune in New York selling VCRs and other electronics (and also securing oil contracts from former Soviet diplomats), has $2 billion in active development projects; his hard-partying son, Alex Sapir, and daughter, Zina Sapir-Rosen, have bankrolled a few of Donald Trumps latest ventures, including the Trump SoHo condo-hotel. [20] He converted Norilsk's gold-mining interests into the US$8.5billion corporation Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold producer. In 2003, he oversaw the acquisition of Stillwater Mining, his first international venture. In 1992, he joined forces with another Russian billionaire, Mikhail Prokhorov, to found Onexim Bank, one of the largest private banks in Russia. They seemed to have contacted everyone around me at once. [clarification needed][citation needed], In April 1996, Prokhorov was appointed to the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel (which then still belonged to the state). He took third place in these elections with 7.94% of the vote. Its a testament to the Global Russians status that its not.) Online, groups of Global Russians are forever forming semi-secret societies. Prokhorov financed its launch with $150 million. The worlds youngest billionaire Dustin Moskovitz seems pretty smitten with his live-in girlfriend Cari Tuna, a Wall Street Journal reporter. In 2012, Prokhorov ran as an independent candidate in the Russian presidential election, and later that year established a new national political party called Civic Platform. Shteyngart came to Queens from what was then Leningrad at the age of 7 and, by his own recollection, lost the last trace of his accent by 14. Prokhorov got Israeli citizenship in 2022. A giant video chat, set up right on the street, that lets New Yorkers, Londoners, and Muscovites speak to one another? They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [29] While not antagonistic to the Kremlin, the party was seen as likely to support President Dmitry Medvedev rather than Prime Minister Vladimir Putin if the latter entered the 2012 presidential race. Then, of course, theres airport mogul Valery Kogan, whose ultimately aborted attempt to build one of the largest mansions in Greenwich (complete with 26 toilets) fueled the Connecticut enclaves gossip mill for years. NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov doesn't plan on getting married anytime soon. ", "Amid Political Rancor, Russian Party Leader Quits", "Putin decree targets elite's foreign assets", "Billionaire Prokhorov Heeding Putin Call With NBA's Nets", "How Vladimir Putin's Son-In-Law Became Russia's Youngest Billionaire", "Why Russian authorities just searched the offices of Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov", "Rubles will roll - Kremlin goes after business assets", ".Ru: ", " " " ", "NBA team owner Prokhorov to run against Putin", "Billionaire and Ex-Minister to Oppose Putin in Russian Presidential Election" (limited no-charge access), "BBC News - Profile: Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian billionaire", "Russian Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov: From Oligarch To President? Theyre consumed by cosmopolitanism and all it entails. Mr Prokhorov, 41, is well known. "I can assure you that no process for the time being [of] looking for a wife is under way. Among Russians, even those connected with the project, this largesse bred instant suspicion. He has stakes in Russian power, insurance and banking sectors. [44], Prokhorov made headlines in early March 2010 when he was forced to forfeit a 36 million deposit he had placed on the 360 million Villa Leopolda in the French Riviera in 2008. Hotels seem to be especially appealing: The Gansevoort and 60 Thompson, as well as some of Andr Balazss properties, are rumored to have Russian backing. They make extremely low offers that also happen to be all cash, which locals dont do. By the time Prokhorov turned his attention to Bruce Ratners Atlantic Yards, the project was in almost as much trouble as Macklowes. Surkov". [25], In January 2022, ONEXIM Group sold 82.47% of the energy company PJSC Quadra[ru] to a subsidiary of Rosatom State Corporation. [28] He is also an avid freeride/freestyle jet skier. In 1994, Onexim became the depository and paying agent for Russian Treasury obligations, and in 1995, it became the authorized bank for the federal agency dealing with bankrupt enterprises. In August 2017, Prokhorov agreed to sell 7% of Rusal to fellow billionaire Viktor Vekselberg for $503.9 million. Until recently, they lived together in a relatively small Moscow apartment, well after Mikhail had become a billionaire. The bank acquired Soviet assets in the amount of US$300 to US$400million. But both pictures helped make me feel like I belong in New York, like my life, and those of my countrymen, is bigger somehow than it was back home. Serena Williams Also Announces Second Pregnancy on Met Gala Red Carpet. [citation needed], In 2016, Onexim sold its 20% stake in Uralkrali, and is considering selling off assets including United Co. Rusal, Opin PJSC and Quadra. The Global Russians, as Snob calls the group, are crystallized from all of the above. 1 year ago - via Josh Kosman, Brian Lewis @ New York Post. For sometime now Ratner has been trying to unload his interest in the NBA team without any luck, which makes perfect sense. Richard Pallardy received a B.A. She quit her job and ended up marrying Ziff. If you want to be a company that leads in customer experience and outperforms others that lack in customer experience, you need to start investing in the tools and strategies that help your CX programs succeed. No, really., The woman held a pause. September 23, 2009. He played basketball himself in high schoolbecause he was six-eight, it was practically an imperativeand invested in Moscows CSKA professional team before turning his attention westward. The two are apparently still happily married. When Moskovitz signed onto Bill Gates and Warren Buffetts giving pledge last year, he referenced his partner Cari in the pledge letter and included a photo of the two of them together. Even by the pre-crash standards of magazine publishing, Snob is an extravagantly well-funded undertaking. In Israel, he owns two private hospitals, where he has paid for the medical treatment of friends such as Alla Pugacheva. Karlie Kloss Announced Her Second Pregnancy at the 2023 Met Gala. The NBA team will fetch well over $1 billion. In pop, there are Regina Spektor and Gogol Bordellos Eugene Htz, of the Bronx and the Lower East Side respectively, both plying very different but very Russian good-girl and bad-boy personas. The deal was closed in 2010. [68], Prokhorov has never been married, but has been engaged twice. All entrepreneurs are unique, but there are a few key features that are common in most. Finally, there were the latest arrivals, treating New York as a prize for having made it in Moscow: the cocky, scowling post-Soviet oligarchs and Fifth Avenue shoppers with their endlessly mockable excesses. As for the Russian contributions to Wall Street, they tend to be low-profile: Theres an enormous number of people with Soviet math educations who work on the analytical side at places like Goldman Sachs. In 2010 Prokhorov purchased a majority stake in the American professional basketball team the New Jersey Nets (which relocated to Brooklyn, New York, in 2012). Photographers, reporters, fashion designers, advertising people, poets. The Global Russian aggressively adopts traits of other cultures without betraying his own. He seemingly flirted with the governorship of a far-flung Russian province (Russian governors are appointed by the Kremlin, not elected), establishing tax residence in a tiny Siberian village. Forbes.com slideshow: Billionaire bachelors. But then I think of that picture of Prokhorov with Mayor Bloomberg and Jay-Z, and it brings to mind a similar photo, one that I apparently committed to memory. Vassily Anisimov leased dormitories to NYU. The first of the restaurants two floors is hosting a writers cabaret sponsored by a Moscow-based magazine called Snob. [33] On 30 April 2012, the Nets officially made the move to Brooklyn, rebranding themselves as the Brooklyn Nets. Obviously, preferences were made in favor of one candidate". Detectives said yesterday that he was being held at police headquarters in Lyon. Dua Lipa walks down the aisle, uh, red carpet of the Met Gala in a 1992 haute couture Chanel gown. Then came the sausage immigration of the nineties, mostly Jewish, mostly provincial, seduced less by freedom than by comfort yet squeaking in on political-refugee papers: More than 60,000 came to the U.S. in 1992 alone. It arranged three bids from affiliates, all at US$170 or US$170.1million. Their story proves that its possible to meet a billionaire, fall in love and live happily ever after, but its not all that likely. Environmental and labor conditions are harsh, and pollution remains a problem; Prokhorov has invested heavily in pollution control. [7][8], In 1992, at the age of 27, Prokhorov partnered with Potanin to run Interros, a holding company that they used in 1995 to effect the purchase of Norilsk Nickel, one of Russia's largest nickel and palladium mining and smelting companies. [45][46] According to them, the "puppet party" was designed to divert opposition voters by using liberal rhetoric. In June of that year, Prokhorov was elected to the leadership of the party at the Right Cause Party Congress of 2011. Some, like Ruvim Breydo, parlay their skills into hedge-fund fortunes. Olaf Blecker for The New York Times By Chip Brown Oct. 28, 2010 The Prokhorov Effect. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. The "homeless" billionaire, Nicolas Berggruen, sold his residences in New York and Miami in 2000. At the acceptance ceremony, Prokhorov officially criticized the present ruling tandem of Medvedev-Putin, the structure of Russia, and vowed to bring Russia back to a stable development course. His zodiac sign is Taurus. The loans for shares program enabled Prokhorov, Potanin, and a select few others to seize control of the Russian economy; that cohort came to be known as the oligarchs.. He was thwarted, however, by internecine conflict that resulted in his ouster from the party. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Free Nets tickets? Each of these groups has found its own watering hole. However, his wealth has also been affected, as the value of his remaining interests in various companies (including Rusal and Open Investments) declined sharply, and as the remaining payment from Rusal had to be postponed but has since been fully paid. France's ambassador to Moscow, Jean de Gliniasty, presented it at the French embassy in Moscow. This Is Not a Drill: Rihanna Made It to the Met Gala. 2023 Forbes Media LLC. Mikhail Prokhorov sold a 49% stake in the Brooklyn Nets to Alibaba executive Joseph Tsai in a $2.3 billion deal in 2018. The literary scene is a fiefdom ruled by novelist Gary Shteyngart, 37, probably the most successful New York novelist in the under-40 bracket. Norilsk Nickel is headquartered in Moscow. In this years record class of 1,210 billionaires, just 36 or 3 percent have never been married. Yakovlev was fresh off a multiyear stint seeking enlightenment in various exotic locations. Their Onexim bank ran auctions for the government, in which bidders won the right to loan the Russian government money. And assorted oligarchs have discovered the Waverly Inn: On a recent evening, former mining magnate Oleg Baibakov (with a young date) and Alexander Lebedev, the Aeroflot mogul who owns Londons Evening Standard and the Independent, were seen there independent of each other. [18], In October 2017, Prokhorov and Viktor Vekselberg sold 3% of Rusal for $315 million in an accelerated bookbuilding. At the upstairs bar, Moscow publisher Andrew Paulson is schmoozing with PR man Ilya Merenzon. It doesnt seem as if hes found one yet. Corrections? Theyre not interested in the Russian ghetto of Brighton Beach or the Russian assimilated culture in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. He was third in voting, amassing 7.94 percent of the total vote. He and his beautiful, much younger girlfriend, Isabella Leong, the actress who starred in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," have three sons together, including twins born just last year. The barely-of-drinking-age set descends on Keith McNallys Pravda, the only Russian-themed spot in town they deem unembarrassing (the nearby KGB Bar and the theater districts FireBird are inexplicably regarded as fake). Were at Think Coffee on Mercer, his favorite place in his favorite city. Mikhail Prokhorov, majority owner of the New Jersey Nets, during one of his own grueling workouts. [5] His paternal grandparents were Russians, relatively wealthy peasant farmers (known as kulaks) who were persecuted as class enemies under the Bolsheviks and again under Stalin. None of the submitted bids even closely approximated the market value of Norilsk Nickel, which had annual profits of around US$400million.[15]. [55], A number of media journalists, including editor-in-chief of RBC Media, were fired after the raid, amid rumors of pressure and opposition from the Kremlin. Its unclear whether Prokhorov wants to be a media mogul per se; hes emphatically not interested in competing with any of his Western counterparts or entering the English-language publishing fray. Its a seventies shot of Baryshnikov lolling on a Studio 54 couch, sandwiched between Steve Rubell and Mick Jagger. Russian tycoon and Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who usually spends August aboard his $230 million yacht, the Palladium, in Ibiza, has been spotted floating around in Palma in Majorca. He could have easily disappeared into the American workforce, he says, and nearly did. All of these enterprises were purchased by Prokhorov and Potanin for approximately one third of their estimated market value. He ran for the Russian presidency in 2012. Under French property law, once an initial sale contract has been signed, a deposit can be refunded only during a seven-day cooling-off period. At the white grand piano gifted by Mikhail Baryshnikov, writer Ludmilla Petrushevskaya is belting out a Russian rendition of Blue Canary. Venture capitalist Alex Fridlyand, novelist Lara Vapnyar, and software mogul Stepan Pachikov look on between bites. Learning these can help you recognize gaslighting if it ever happens to you. He mostly wanted the arena so that [], Master of Economics, Moscow Institute of Finance. Much of Prokhorov's fortune stems from the 2008 sale of his stake in metals giant Norilsk Nickel. And yet buying the Nets and their arena was clearly a real-estate play as well. In the world of art, the main seat of Russian influence is the Guggenheim. [citation needed], In June 2012, he became the leader of the Civic Platform Party. Mikhail Prokhorov (center) After selling off most of Norilsk's non-mining assets, Prokhorov moved to modernize a highly complex mining operation which required icebreakers to transport metal over the frozen Arctic region. [47], Prokhorov is one of many "Russian oligarchs" named in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017. The internets favorite daddy brought the perfect accessory to the 2023 Met Gala: his legs. WGA & AMPTP could not reach an agreement Monday night. Senator, owned the Milwaukee Bucks at the time). (His main rival for that title, Jonathan Safran Foer, can be seen as an interesting case of a wannabe Russian, an Updike to his Roth.) [11], Banks holding government funds earned handsome fees and paid minimal interest at a time when inflation was in the triple digits. Broadly speaking, the term indicates a combination of Russian culture and language with Western education, a well-stamped passport, and liberal Western views. [10], Prokhorov's first major financial success came at MFK, which became a depository institution for the government. The weird thing was that they knew everyone. Mikhail Prokhorov, whose fortune is estimated at nearly $9 billion, ran for president of Russia against Vladimir Putin in 2012 in a stage-managed campaign sanctioned by the Kremlin. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Doja Cat Becomes an Actual Cat for Met Gala. UNEXIMs assets were moved to another bank formed for the purpose of holding them; that bank eventually merged with UNEXIM in 2000. (Ten years ago, this would have been a clear sign that the spot is toxic. in English from Illinois State University in 2005. It looked exactly like something a dizzy nouveau riche would do. And not just by joining his club or working for his magazine. Next up were Soviet immigrants of the seventies, the generation of Joseph Brodsky that would never let you forget their plight. Why the Met Galas Karl Lagerfeld Theme Is Controversial. [1], After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Prokhorov obtained Russian state-owned metals assets at prices far below market value in Russia's controversial loans-for-shares privatization program. The Russian Samovar, a recent evening, 10 p.m. Green-shaded lamps throw unappetizing light on platefuls of chicken Kiev; the theater across the street has just disgorged the Jersey Boys crowd. He made his money the new-fashioned Russian way. As part of that focus, ONEXIM purchased Optogan in 2008. Find out. snob was actually an acronym of sostoyavshiisya, nezavisimyi, obrazovannyi, blagopoluchnyi (accomplished, independent, educated, thriving). Otherwise he enjoys jetting around the world, and has businesses in Germany, India, Israel and Turkey, to name a few. Dressed as Karl Lagerfelds beloved cat, Choupette. Once we figure out the dress code, we look like everyone else, he tells me over a vodka-and-tonic, the ultimate Russian-American drink if you think about it. At one time, he financially supported CSKA Moscow's basketball, hockey and football clubs, and is a member of the Supreme Council of the Sport Russia organization. All sorts of people named in the last several paragraphs either belong to the club, contribute to the magazine, or have been profiled by it. 2, Dmitry Razumov,. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Back home, his reputation as a playboy had been sealed in the mid-aughts. Sponsoring some benches in the High Line park? The phone rang at an ungodly hour, as it always seems to when Moscow is on the line. From Doja Cats face prosthetics to Anok Yais body glow. More about Mikhail Prokhorov Photo Gallery Mikhail Prokhorov Mikhail Prokhorov Mikhail Prokhorov He was known for descending on Moscows wildest nightclubs with Gosha Kutsenko, a bald-headed, mildly freakish Russian film star he had befriended, with packs of coltish young things in tow. When Snobs creation was announced in 2008, the world assumed it would be a glossy paean to the worlds longest yachts or something, a Slavic strivers version of the Robb Report with the barest hint of self-awareness in the title. By becoming the first foreign owner of an NBA team, Prokhorov simultaneously established himself as a major figure in one of the worlds most glamorous businesses (in the world capital of the sport, no less) and a central player in New Yorks biggest real-estate drama after ground zero.
