Mikhail Prokhorov
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Dmitrievitch Prokhorov (Russian
: Михаил Дмитриевич Прохоров; born May 3, 1965) is a Russia
n 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.
to Dmitry and Tamara Prokhorov, he has one sibling, an elder sister, Irina. His paternal grandparents were impoverished kulak
s. His maternal grandmother, Anna Belkina, was a microbiologist. His father was the head of the international department of the Soviet Sports Committee, which gave him the rare privilege of traveling abroad. His mother grew up in Moscow and worked as an engineer for a university research group specializing in plastics. Prokhorov's father and mother died within a year of each other from heart disease; both were in their late 50s.
) engineered the acquisition of Norilsk Nickel by Onexim Bank, of which he was then chairman of the board.
After selling off most of Norilsk's non-mining assets, Prokhorov moved to modernize a complicated, expensive business venture which required icebreaker
s to transport metal over the frozen Arctic region. Prokhorov invested in an innovative Finnish
freighter that did not require icebreakers. Norilsk Nickel is headquartered in the Siberia
n city of the same name. Environmental and labor conditions are harsh there, and pollution remains a problem; Prokhorov has invested heavily in pollution control. He converted Norilsk Nickel's gold-mining interests into the $8.5 billion corporation Polyus Gold
, Russia's largest gold producer, of which he is chairman of the board.
Prokhorov resigned as Norilsk CEO in February 2007 and declared his intention to separate his assets from those of long-time partner Vladimir Potanin
. The two engaged in protracted negotiations to separate the conglomerate Interros
, co-owned by the two, into separate holdings. By the end of 2009, the only major asset jointly owned by the two remains the development company JSC Open Investments, which is hard to value due to a volatile situation on the Moscow real estate market.
, Prokhorov launched the private investment fund ONEXIM Group, with assets valued at $17 billion at the time. As the de-merger from Interros proceeded, and as other industries caught Prokhorov's attention, the group rapidly changed its investment profile. In April 2008, Prokhorov sold his most valuable asset - a 25% plus two shares stake in Norilsk Nickel - to United Company RUSAL
, another mining conglomerate controlled by fellow billionaire Oleg Deripaska
, in exchange for some 14% of Rusal stock, about $5 billion in cash and an obligation to pay over $2 billion more. The deal has been singled out as a major success for Prokhorov as only three months later, following a dip in oil prices, a disastrous stock market crash halved the value of most Russian companies, including Norilsk. He emerged as one of the very few businessmen to have cashed out in time. 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.
In September 2008, ONEXIM Group acquired 50% of Renaissance Capital, a major Russian investment bank which has reportedly encountered liquidity problems. ONEXIM also purchased a small bank, renaming it IFC (for the bank which Prokhorov had run in the early 1990s).
One of ONEXIM Group's divisions focuses on the development of nanotechnology
investing in high-technology projects such as white LEDs. One of the key areas of development is the production of materials with ultra–tiny structures used in energy generation and medicine. In that purpose in 2008 ONEXIM purchased Optogan
.
In June 2007, then-Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov
announced the formation of the Government Council for Nanotechnology, to oversee the development of nanotechnology in the country. Prokhorov was one of 15 individuals appointed to the council, which was to be chaired by then-First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov
.
A high-profile media venture is JV!, a media group led by the publisher of Kommersant
, Vladimir Yakovlev; the group publishes, among other things, such magazines targeted at the wealthy as Snob and Russian Pioneer.
In July 2009, the shareholders of RBC Information Systems agreed with ONEXIM Group of Mikhail Prokhorov to sell the latest issue of the additional 51% stake for $80 million, half of which went to pay off debts. The deal was closed in 2010. Prokhorov has business interests in mining and metallurgy (Polyus Gold, stake in Rusal), financial services (IFC-Bank, Soglassye insurance company, half of Renaissance Capital), utilities (stake in Quadra), nanotech, media (JV!) and real estate development (stake in Open Investments).
(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 (he stands 6'8") 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 January 2007, he was arrested for allegedly arranging prostitutes for his guests. After four days he was released without charge. In September 2009, Prokhorov was officially cleared from this charge and the judicial case was dismissed. According to his blog, he even received apologies from French officials during his visit to France in November 2009.
Prokhorov made headlines in early March 2010 when he was forced to forfeit a £36 million deposit he placed on the £360 million Villa Leopolda
in the French Riviera
in 2008. Under French property law
, once an initial sale contract has been signed, a deposit can only be refunded during a seven day cooling-off period
. On March 2, 2010, a court in Nice, France ruled that the villa's owner, 71-year-old Lily Safra
, widow of deceased billionaire banker Edmund Safra, could keep the £36 million deposit, plus £1 million in interest.
Regarding Prokhorov's political efforts and the Right Cause party, critical commentators claim that the entire endeavor is just a project of the Kremlin closely curated by Vladislav Surkov
and that Prokorov was effectively appointed a party leader. According to them, the "puppet party" was designed to divert opposition voters by using liberal rhetoric.
for his significant contribution to the growth of Russia’s economic potential, when the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin
, signed an order for the granting of state honours on August 18, 2006. In March 2011, he was bestowed with the French Legion of Honour. France's ambassador to Moscow, Jean de Gliniastrance, presented it at the French embassy in Moscow.
. 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 ..., Vladislav Y. Surkov," according to a report in The New York Times.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Михаил Дмитриевич Прохоров; born May 3, 1965) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
basketball team, the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. 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
Polyus Gold
Polyus Gold is a Russian mining and metallurgy company primarily concerned with the production of gold. Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia. Polyus is controlled by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov's ONEXIM Group conglomerate and Suleiman Kerimov.In 1990 Polyus was restructured as...
, 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.
Family
Born in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to Dmitry and Tamara Prokhorov, he has one sibling, an elder sister, Irina. His paternal grandparents were impoverished kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
s. His maternal grandmother, Anna Belkina, was a microbiologist. His father was the head of the international department of the Soviet Sports Committee, which gave him the rare privilege of traveling abroad. His mother grew up in Moscow and worked as an engineer for a university research group specializing in plastics. Prokhorov's father and mother died within a year of each other from heart disease; both were in their late 50s.
Early years
In 1989, he graduated with honors from the Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation, known at the time as the Moscow Finance Institute. From 1989 to 1992, Prokhorov worked in a management position at the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, and afterwards shortly served as head of Management Board of the International Finance Company (MFK). In 1993, aged 28, during the largely un-regulated privatization of former state-controlled industries after the collapse of the USSR, Prokhorov (together with Vladimir PotaninVladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin is a Russian businessman and oligarch. His partner has been for many years Mikhail Prokhorov...
) engineered the acquisition of Norilsk Nickel by Onexim Bank, of which he was then chairman of the board.
Norilsk Nickel
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s to transport metal over the frozen Arctic region. Prokhorov invested in an innovative Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
freighter that did not require icebreakers. Norilsk Nickel is headquartered in the Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n city of the same name. Environmental and labor conditions are harsh there, and pollution remains a problem; Prokhorov has invested heavily in pollution control. He converted Norilsk Nickel's gold-mining interests into the $8.5 billion corporation Polyus Gold
Polyus Gold
Polyus Gold is a Russian mining and metallurgy company primarily concerned with the production of gold. Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia. Polyus is controlled by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov's ONEXIM Group conglomerate and Suleiman Kerimov.In 1990 Polyus was restructured as...
, Russia's largest gold producer, of which he is chairman of the board.
Prokhorov resigned as Norilsk CEO in February 2007 and declared his intention to separate his assets from those of long-time partner Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin is a Russian businessman and oligarch. His partner has been for many years Mikhail Prokhorov...
. The two engaged in protracted negotiations to separate the conglomerate Interros
Interros
Interros is a Russian conglomerate controlled by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin with large stakes in mining, metals, energy, finance, retail, real estate and other sectors...
, co-owned by the two, into separate holdings. By the end of 2009, the only major asset jointly owned by the two remains the development company JSC Open Investments, which is hard to value due to a volatile situation on the Moscow real estate market.
ONEXIM Group
In May 2007, following the decision to exit InterrosInterros
Interros is a Russian conglomerate controlled by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin with large stakes in mining, metals, energy, finance, retail, real estate and other sectors...
, Prokhorov launched the private investment fund ONEXIM Group, with assets valued at $17 billion at the time. As the de-merger from Interros proceeded, and as other industries caught Prokhorov's attention, the group rapidly changed its investment profile. In April 2008, Prokhorov sold his most valuable asset - a 25% plus two shares stake in Norilsk Nickel - to United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL is the world's largest aluminium company, with headquarters in Moscow, Russian Federation. UC RUSAL accounts for almost 11% of the world's primary aluminium output and 13% of the world’s alumina production. The United Company was formed by the merger of RUSAL , SUAL, and the...
, another mining conglomerate controlled by fellow billionaire Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is the Russian Chief executive officer of Basic Element company and a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of United Company RUSAL, a Russian aluminium industry company...
, in exchange for some 14% of Rusal stock, about $5 billion in cash and an obligation to pay over $2 billion more. The deal has been singled out as a major success for Prokhorov as only three months later, following a dip in oil prices, a disastrous stock market crash halved the value of most Russian companies, including Norilsk. He emerged as one of the very few businessmen to have cashed out in time. 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.
In September 2008, ONEXIM Group acquired 50% of Renaissance Capital, a major Russian investment bank which has reportedly encountered liquidity problems. ONEXIM also purchased a small bank, renaming it IFC (for the bank which Prokhorov had run in the early 1990s).
One of ONEXIM Group's divisions focuses on the development of nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
investing in high-technology projects such as white LEDs. One of the key areas of development is the production of materials with ultra–tiny structures used in energy generation and medicine. In that purpose in 2008 ONEXIM purchased Optogan
Optogan
-Company information:Optogan group of companies is a vertically integrated producer of High Brightness LEDs based in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The group is also active in Finland and Germany...
.
In June 2007, then-Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov
Mikhail Fradkov
Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov is a Russian politician and statesman who was the Prime Minister of Russia from March 2004 to September 2007. Fradkov has been the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service since 2007.-Early life:...
announced the formation of the Government Council for Nanotechnology, to oversee the development of nanotechnology in the country. Prokhorov was one of 15 individuals appointed to the council, which was to be chaired by then-First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is a Russian senior official and statesman. He was Minister of Defence from March 2001 to February 2007, Deputy Prime Minister from November 2005 to February 2007, and the First Deputy Prime Minister from February 2007 to May 2008...
.
A high-profile media venture is JV!, a media group led by the publisher of Kommersant
Kommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
, Vladimir Yakovlev; the group publishes, among other things, such magazines targeted at the wealthy as Snob and Russian Pioneer.
In July 2009, the shareholders of RBC Information Systems agreed with ONEXIM Group of Mikhail Prokhorov to sell the latest issue of the additional 51% stake for $80 million, half of which went to pay off debts. The deal was closed in 2010. Prokhorov has business interests in mining and metallurgy (Polyus Gold, stake in Rusal), financial services (IFC-Bank, Soglassye insurance company, half of Renaissance Capital), utilities (stake in Quadra), nanotech, media (JV!) and real estate development (stake in Open Investments).
Sports and patronage
In March 2004 he founded the Cultural Initiatives FoundationCultural Initiatives Foundation
The Cultural Initiatives Foundation is a private charitable foundation founded in 2004 by Mikhail Prokhorov....
(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
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow is a major Russian sports club based in Moscow. It is popularly referred to in the West as "Red Army" or "the Red Army team" because during the Soviet era, it was a part of the Armed Forces sports society, which in turn was associated with the Soviet Army...
'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
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
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 (he stands 6'8") NBA owner.
A martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
enthusiast, Prokhorov is, as of 2011, an Ambassador for Peace and Sport, a Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
-based international organization, committed to serving peace in the world through sport.
Controversies
At a Christmas party for the Russian rich at the French Alpine resort of CourchevelCourchevel
Courchevel is the name of a ski resort located in the commune of Saint-Bon-Tarentaise in the French Alps, in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes region. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski area in the world...
in January 2007, he was arrested for allegedly arranging prostitutes for his guests. After four days he was released without charge. In September 2009, Prokhorov was officially cleared from this charge and the judicial case was dismissed. According to his blog, he even received apologies from French officials during his visit to France in November 2009.
Prokhorov made headlines in early March 2010 when he was forced to forfeit a £36 million deposit he placed on the £360 million Villa Leopolda
Villa Leopolda
Villa La Leopolda is a large villa in the French town of Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera.-History:Villa La Leopolda in it's current incarnation was designed and built from 1929 through 1931 by an American architect, Boston's Ogden Codman Jr...
in the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
in 2008. Under French property law
Property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
, once an initial sale contract has been signed, a deposit can only be refunded during a seven day cooling-off period
Cooling-off period
Cooling-off period may refer to:* Period of time after a purchase during which the purchaser has the right to return goods for a refund, or to cancel a contract without penalty...
. On March 2, 2010, a court in Nice, France ruled that the villa's owner, 71-year-old Lily Safra
Lily Safra
Lily Safra is a Brazilian-Monegasque philanthropist and social figure who attained considerable wealth after four marriages. Her net worth is estimated at $1 billion, ranking her as the 701st richest person in the world according to Forbes in 2009...
, widow of deceased billionaire banker Edmund Safra, could keep the £36 million deposit, plus £1 million in interest.
Regarding Prokhorov's political efforts and the Right Cause party, critical commentators claim that the entire endeavor is just a project of the Kremlin closely curated by Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov is a Russian businessman and politician. Currently he is a First Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of the Russian Federation and a top aide to Vladimir Putin. Vladislav Surkov is widely seen as the main ideologist of the Kremlin...
and that Prokorov was effectively appointed a party leader. According to them, the "puppet party" was designed to divert opposition voters by using liberal rhetoric.
Awards
In August 2006 he was awarded the Order of FriendshipOrder of Friendship
The Order of Friendship is a state decoration of Russia established by decree # 442 of March 2, 1994 of the President of the Russian Federation....
for his significant contribution to the growth of Russia’s economic potential, when the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, signed an order for the granting of state honours on August 18, 2006. In March 2011, he was bestowed with the French Legion of Honour. France's ambassador to Moscow, Jean de Gliniastrance, presented it at the French embassy in Moscow.
Russian politics
In May, 2011, Prokhorov announced a plan to join the leadership of the Russian pro-business political party Right CauseRight Cause
Right Cause is a political party in Russia with representatives in several local legislatures. Founded on 18 February 2009 as a merger of the Union of Right Forces, Civilian Power and the Democratic Party of Russia, the party's main policy stances are liberal free market economy, democracy and...
. While not antagonistic to the Kremlin, the party is likely to support President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
rather than Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
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 ..., Vladislav Y. Surkov," according to a report in The New York Times.
External links
- Forbes billionaire topic page on Mikhail Prokhorov. Forbes.com. Accessed April 2010.
- Article about his January 12, 2007 arrest
- 2007 Kommersant article about Prokhorov standing down as Norilsk CEO
- "Mikhail Prokhorov: The Russian Is Coming", 60 Minutes60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, CBS-TV, March 28, 2010 - "The N.B.A.'s Oligarch and His Power Games", The New York Times Magazine, October 28, 2010