Mikhail Prokhorov facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mikhail Prokhorov
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| Михаил Прохоров | |
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Prokhorov in 2013
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Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov
3 May 1965 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
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| Citizenship | Russia, Israel |
| Alma mater | Moscow Finance Institute |
| Occupation | Businessman, Politician |
| Known for | Owner of the ONEXIM Group and the Brooklyn Nets (2010–2019) |
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Political party | CPSU (1988–91) Right Cause (2011) Civic Platform (2012–15) |
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Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov (Russian: Михаил Дмитриевич Прохоров; born 3 May 1965) is a very wealthy Russian-Israeli businessman and politician. He is known for owning the Brooklyn Nets basketball team for many years.
After the Soviet Union ended, Prokhorov became very successful in business. He gained control of large state-owned metal companies in Russia. His company, Norilsk Nickel, grew to be the world's biggest producer of nickel and palladium. He also used to lead Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold mining company, and was the President of ONEXIM Group. As of late 2021, he was one of the richest people in the world.
In 2011, Prokhorov decided to run for president in the 2012 Russian presidential election. He finished third in the election. In 2012, he started a new political party in Russia called Civic Platform. In April 2022, Prokhorov moved to Israel and became an Israeli citizen.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mikhail Prokhorov was born in Moscow, the capital of Russia. His parents were Tamara and Dmitri Prokhorov. His grandparents on his father's side were Russian farmers who faced difficulties during the Soviet era. His father grew up without much money. Mikhail has an older sister named Irina. His mother's side of the family included a Russian grandmother and a Jewish microbiologist grandmother named Anna Belkina. Anna stayed in Moscow during World War II to make important vaccines.
Mikhail's father was a lawyer who worked on international relations for the Soviet sports committee. His mother was an engineer who worked with plastics. Both of his parents passed away from heart disease when they were in their late 50s. His sister, Irina, now manages his charity groups, a literary magazine, and a publishing house. She lives in a part of his large home near Moscow.
In 1989, Mikhail graduated from the Moscow Finance Institute. From 1989 to 1992, he worked in a management role at the International Bank for Economic Cooperation. After that, he became the head of the MFK bank. In 1993, he helped start the United Export-Import Bank (also known as Onexim Bank) with his college friend Alexander Khloponin and Vladimir Potanin, who became his business partner.
Building a Business Empire
In 1992, when he was 27, Prokhorov teamed up with Vladimir Potanin to create a company called Interros. In 1995, they used Interros to buy Norilsk Nickel. This company is one of Russia's biggest for mining and processing nickel and palladium. During a time when many state-owned companies were being sold off after the Soviet Union ended, Prokhorov and Potanin were able to buy Norilsk Nickel. When Prokhorov left the company in 2007, his share was worth about US$7.5 billion.
Prokhorov's first big financial success was at MFK, a bank that held government money. The bank gained control of Soviet assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Prokhorov was the chairman of the board there from 1992 to 1993. In 1993, he became chairman of Potanin's Onexim Bank. This bank handled payments for government bonds and managed Moscow's international business activities. By 1994, Onexim Bank focused on big clients in industries like oil, gas, chemicals, and metals. In 1995, it became the official bank for the government agency dealing with companies that were going out of business.
In the 1990s, the Russian government needed money. Prokhorov and Potanin's Onexim bank helped the government by holding auctions where banks could lend money to the government. The government used shares of newly privatized companies as a guarantee for these loans. The government did not repay the loans, so Onexim gained ownership of these company shares. This helped Prokhorov and Potanin acquire major companies like Norilsk Nickel.
In April 1996, Prokhorov joined the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel. In November 1995, Onexim Bank won 38% of Norilsk Nickel in an auction. At that time, Norilsk produced a quarter of the world's nickel.
In December 2011, Prokhorov announced he would run as an independent candidate in the 2012 Russian presidential election. He finished third with almost 8% of the votes. In June 2012, he announced the creation of a new political party called the “Party of Civic Platform”. To focus on politics, he stepped down from his roles as Chairman of Polyus Gold and President of the ONEXIM Group in June 2011.
In 2017, Prokhorov sold some of his shares in Rusal, another large mining company.
Norilsk Nickel's Growth
After selling off parts of Norilsk Nickel that were not related to mining, Prokhorov worked to make the mining operations more modern. This included investing in special Finnish ships that could transport metal through the frozen Arctic without needing icebreakers. Norilsk Nickel's main office is in Moscow. The working conditions and pollution were big challenges, and Prokhorov invested a lot in controlling pollution. However, pollution remains a problem in the mining areas.
He also turned Norilsk's gold mining businesses into a huge company called Polyus Gold, which became Russia's largest gold producer. In 2003, he bought Stillwater Mining, which was his first international business deal. He left his role as Norilsk CEO in February 2007. He then decided to separate his business interests from his long-time partner Vladimir Potanin.
ONEXIM Group's Investments
In May 2007, Prokhorov started his own private investment fund called ONEXIM Group. At that time, it had assets worth about US$17 billion. As he separated his assets from Interros and looked into other industries, the group's investments changed quickly. In April 2008, Prokhorov sold his shares in Norilsk Nickel to United Company RUSAL, another mining company. He received shares in Rusal, cash, and future payments. This deal was seen as a big success for Prokhorov because he sold his shares just before a major stock market crash.
In September 2008, ONEXIM Group bought 50% of Renaissance Capital, a large Russian investment bank. ONEXIM also bought a small bank and renamed it IFC. One part of ONEXIM Group focuses on developing nanotechnology, investing in high-tech projects like white LEDs. This includes making materials with very tiny structures used in energy and medicine. In 2008, ONEXIM bought Optogan as part of this focus.
In June 2007, the Russian Prime Minister announced a council to oversee nanotechnology development in the country. Prokhorov was one of 15 people chosen for this council.
In July 2009, ONEXIM Group bought more shares in RBC Information Systems, a media company. Prokhorov's business interests include mining and metals (Polyus Gold, Intergeo, Rusal shares), financial services (IFC-Bank, Soglassye insurance company, Renaissance Capital), utilities (Quadra shares), nanotech, media, and real estate.
In 2016, Onexim sold its shares in Uralkrali and considered selling other assets. In January 2022, ONEXIM Group sold most of its shares in the energy company Quadra.
International Business and Support
Prokhorov has several international investments. In Israel, he owns two private hospitals. He has even paid for medical treatment for his friends there.
In March 2004, Prokhorov started the Cultural Initiatives Foundation, which is part of the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation. His older sister, Irina, who is a well-known Russian publisher, leads this foundation. He used to financially support CSKA Moscow's basketball, hockey, and football clubs. He is also a member of the Supreme Council of the Sport Russia organization and serves as president of the Russian Biathlon Union. He enjoys jet skiing and can perform impressive tricks, like a backflip.
In September 2009, he offered to buy a large share of the New Jersey Nets basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also offered to buy half of a project to build a new arena in Brooklyn. On May 11, 2010, the NBA approved the sale, making him the main owner of the team with an 80% stake. He also bought a 45% share in the new Barclays Center arena.
He became the first NBA team owner who was not from North America. In December 2011, when he announced his run for the Russian presidency, the NBA confirmed that his ownership would not need to change if he were elected. On April 30, 2012, the Nets officially moved to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Nets.
In October 2017, reports said Prokhorov was close to selling 49 percent of the Brooklyn Nets. On October 27, ESPN reported that he had agreed to sell this share to Taiwanese-Canadian businessman Joseph Tsai. The value of this share was estimated at $1.2 billion. On September 18, 2019, Prokhorov sold the remaining 51 percent of the Nets to Tsai. His investment was less than $1.5 billion, and the total sale was estimated at $3.5 billion, meaning he made about $2 billion.
Prokhorov also controls and is a major investor in Sensorium Corp, a virtual reality company.
In Russian Politics
In May 2011, Prokhorov announced he would join the leadership of the Russian pro-business political party Right Cause. In June of that year, he was elected to lead the party. At the acceptance ceremony, Prokhorov spoke about improving Russia. However, in September 2011, Prokhorov left Right Cause. He called it a "puppet Kremlin party" that was controlled by someone else.
In 2014, Prokhorov said he was thinking about moving control of his ownership in the Brooklyn Nets to one of his Russian companies. This was to follow a new law in Russia that said politicians should not have foreign assets.
In 2016, Prokhorov had issues with President Putin when his media group, RBC Media, published articles about the Panama Papers and connections to Putin's son-in-law. Offices of Onexim were searched by government officials in April 2016. The searches were officially for a bank investigation, but tax problems were also found at some of his businesses. After the search, several journalists from RBC Media were fired.
In June 2012, he became the leader of the Civic Platform Party. In 2015, Prokhorov stepped down as leader and left the party.
Running for President in 2012
In December 2011, after the parliamentary elections, Prokhorov announced he would run for president in the 2012 election against Vladimir Putin. He called it "probably the most important decision of my life." He collected the 2 million signatures needed to run. Prokhorov said his campaign would not focus on criticizing Putin. He wanted to focus on what he would do if elected.
On March 4, 2012, in the presidential election, Prokhorov received 7.98% of the votes. After the election, Prokhorov said he knew the elections were not completely fair, and that one candidate was clearly favored.
Lawsuit Against Grigory Rodchenkov
After Russia was banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics and many Russian athletes lost their medals, Prokhorov agreed to pay for a lawsuit in New York in February 2018. The lawsuit was against Grigory Rodchenkov. Rodchenkov was a former head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory who revealed a state-sponsored doping program. The lawsuit claimed Rodchenkov had wrongly accused three Russian biathletes of using performance-enhancing drugs during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The athletes, who lost their silver medal, were seeking $10 million each.
In April 2018, Rodchenkov, through his lawyer, sued Prokhorov back. Rodchenkov's lawyer said Prokhorov's lawsuit was meant to stop free speech and find out where Rodchenkov was in the United States.
Personal Life
Mikhail Prokhorov has never been married. He was engaged twice in the past. After buying the Nets basketball team, he promised to get married if the team didn't win the NBA championship within five years. In July 2015, he took back this promise. While the media linked him to Ksenia Sobchak, he has not named any specific woman as a possible wife.
Awards and Honors
In August 2006, he received the Order of Friendship. This award was given by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, for his important contributions to Russia's economy. In March 2011, he was given the French Legion of Honour. France's ambassador to Moscow presented this award to him at the French embassy.
See also
In Spanish: Mijaíl Prójorov para niños
- List of billionaires
- List of Russian billionaires
- Ё-mobile
