Russian Billionaire Owner of Nets

Did you know that a Russian billionaire is the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team? It’s true: in May of 2010, Mikhail Prokhorov acquired 80% ownership in the team. Initially, he wanted to buy the New York Knicks, but he ended up settling for the Nets. Prokhorov’s dream is to mold the Nets into one of the best “global” teams.

Nowadays, there are many Russian billionaires, many of which who rose like phoenixes from the ashes of the former Soviet Union. Prokhorov’s story is an interesting one. He’s tall at six foot eight, a playboy and eligible bachelor, and speaks English well. Prokhorov has given interviews to Bloomberg TV and appeared in a special entitled “The Russian Is Coming” on 60 Minutes.

Prokhorov was born on May 3, 1965 and graduated magna cum laude from The Moscow Finance Institute in 1989. Since then, he's carved a career out of mining. His first jobs was with Norilsk Nickel, a company that specializes in precious metals. Prokhorov lived in Siberia and turned the company around. In addition to ownership in Norilsk, Prokhorov is currently the CEO of Polyus Gold and president of the Onexim Group, also involved in the mining industry. Onexim looks to the future of energy generation and is heavily focused on hydrogen cell technology.

Prokhorov has achieved success on a global level, but in a Bloomberg interview, he stated that he’s only been on the internet three times. As for cell phones, he doesn’t use them.

Prokhorov is enigmatic: he claimed in an interview with Bloomberg that “money doesn’t really drive me,” but he has managed to become very wealthy with an Forbes estimated wealth of $18 billion in 2011.

Business aside, Prokhorov is an avid sportsman and enjoys kickboxing, skiing, jet skiing and he plays the guitar and sings. Among his other passions: good food and excellent wines. Apparently, the 200 foot yacht he owns makes him seasick. Women are attracted to him like bees to honey, but he has yet to marry which bring us to the most interesting tidbit about this driven man. It comes down to a question he was asked: “what gift of nature he would like to have?” The answer was to understand women.

What we do know, though, is that Prokhorov has the Midas Touch. Is luck a part of it? Probably a bit, along with a lot of hard work. And those of us who believe in astrology and acknowledge that the energy generated by celestial bodies can be harnessed to our advantage, the fact that Prokhorov is a Taurus would explain a lot. Material security for the earth sign Taurus is all important and success is equated to surrounding oneself with material possessions. Hopefully, once material success is achieved, then emotional security will follow.

Who knows, wedding bells may be in the future of this elusive bachelor!