 I can hear people
complaining already saying "Big Don, what is this suit wearing guy doing here?
There is not one shirtless photo in his gallery. What makes you say he is hot?"
Well, uh as the only 6'8" billionaire on my site he would be pretty appealing
anyway even if he was not a very handsome guy! PS he could also kickbox your
ass to death.
Mikhail Prokhorov (Russian: Михаил Дмитриевич Прохоров;
born 1965) is a Russian billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the American basketball
team, the New Jersey Nets. After graduating from the Moscow Finance Institute he
made his name in the financial sector and went on to become one of Russia's leading
industrialists in the precious metals sector. While he was running Norilsk Nickel,
the company became the world's largest producer of nickel and palladium. He is currently
chairman of Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold producer, and President of ONEXIM
Group. Prokhorov is the third richest man from Russia and the 39th richest man in
the world according to the 2010 Forbes list with a fortune estimated at $18 billion
as per the Forbes Billionaire List.
In March 2004 he founded the Cultural Initiatives Foundation (as part
of the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation). It is headed by Prokhorov's elder
sister, Irina, a prominent Russian publisher. 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. Prokhorov
currently serves as president of the Russian Biathlon Union.
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. On May 11, 2010, the NBA approved
the sale of the Nets to Prokhorov, making him majority owner of the team
with an 80% stake, as well as a 45% interest in their new Barclays Center.
He thus became the first non-North American and tallest NBA owner.
A martial arts enthusiast, Prokhorov is, as of 2011, an Ambassador for Peace
and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization, committed to serving
peace in the world through sport.In May, 2011, Prokhorov announced a plan
to join the leadership of the Russian pro-business political party Right
Cause. While not antagonistic to the Kremlin, the party is likely to support
President Dmitry Medvedev rather than Prime Minister Vladimir Putin if the
latter enters the 2012 presidential race. On June 25, 2011, Prokhorov was
elected to the leadership of the party at the Right Cause Party Congress
of 2011. 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. In September, 2011,
Prokhorov said he had quit Right Cause, "condemning it as a 'puppet
Kremlin party' micromanaged by a 'puppet master' in the president's office,"
according to a report in The New York Times. He lost to Vladmir Putin in another one of those bullshit elections. |
