Mikhail Prokhorov is the former owner of the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA’s highest-paid team. In addition, he is a politician, oligarch, and self-made billionaire. Aside from that, he is the former chairman of Polyus Gold, Russia’s largest gold producer.
When he was in charge of Norilsk Nickel, he also helped the company become the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium. In 2011, he left behind these two positions as president of Onexim Group to pursue a career in politics.
Quick Facts
Celebrated Name: | Mikhail Prokhorov |
Real Name/Full Name: | Mikhail Dmitrievitch Prokhorov |
Gender: | Male |
Age: | 57 years old |
Birth Date: | 3 May 1965 |
Birth Place: | Moscow, Russia |
Nationality: | Russian |
Height: | 1.87 m |
Weight: | 81 kg |
Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
Marital Status: | Single |
Wife/Spouse (Name): | N/A |
Children/Kids (Son and Daughter): | No |
Dating/Girlfriend (Name): | No |
Is Mikhail Prokhorov Gay?: | No |
Profession: | Politician |
Salary: | N/A |
Net Worth in 2024: | $14 billion |
Mikhail Prokhorov Biography
Tamara Prokhorov and Dmitri Prokhorov welcomed their son, Mikhail Dmitrievitch Prokhorov, on May 3, 1965. Mikhail is the younger son of his parents, and he has an older sister named Irina Prokhorov.
His father was a trained lawyer who handled international relations for the Soviet Committee of Physical Culture and Sports. His mother, Tamara Prokhorov, was a chemical engineer at the Institute for Chemical Machine-Building.
Mikhail graduated from the Moscow Finance Institute in 1989 and later worked in a management position at the International Bank for Economic Corporation. He was briefly the chairman of the management board of MFK bank shortly after.
Prokhorov co-founded United Export-Import Bank with Vladimir Potanin, whom he met while working at IBEC. He served as chairman while his partner served as president.
Mikhail Prokhorov Age, Height, Weight
Mikhail Prokhorov was born on May 3, 1965, and is 57 years old as of 2024. His height is 1.87 m, and he weighs 81 kg.
Career
By 1997, UNEXIM had taken control of Norilsk after the Russian government failed to repay a loan that UNEXIM had auctioned off. This loan auctioning became the ‘loans for shares’ program, which earned Prokhorov the title of the oligarch, giving him and a few others control over the Russian economy.
However, this did not last long, and the government defaulted on the entire loan in 1998. By the year 2000, UNEXIM had also been merged with another bank.
However, in 2001, Prokhorov took over as director of Norilsk, which he transformed into the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium during his tenure. He resigned in 2007, however, and it was speculated that it was due to the prostitution scandal in which he was embroiled.
The court, however, found him not guilty. In 2011, he entered politics, becoming the leader of Russia’s liberal Right Cause party. Then he decided to run for president against the new Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin.
In 2018, he made headlines when he sold 49 percent of his stakes in the Brooklyn Nets to Joseph Tsai, a Taiwanese Canadian businessman. This company later purchased all of Prokhorov’s remaining shares, making him the team’s former owner.
Mikhail Prokhorov Achievements and Awards
Prokhorov was awarded the Order of Friendship in 2006 for his contribution to the expansion of Russia’s economic potential. In 2011, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour by France’s ambassador, Jean de Gliniasty.
Mikhail Prokhorov’s Net Worth in 2024
Mikhail Prokhorov is said to have a net worth of $14 billion as of February 2024, the majority of which he earned during the fall of the Soviet Union when he bought shares from then-state-run corporations through his ‘loans for shares’ program. Prokhorov is the 148th wealthiest person in the world thanks to his fortune.
Mikhail Prokhorov has established himself as a well-known financial sector worker, businessman, and politician by co-founding a bank, making Narilsk and Polyus Gold the largest producers of their kind under his leadership, and co-founding his national political party, Civic Platform.
With all his success achieved through his wits and complex words, he is now referred to as a self-made billionaire. He is currently known as one of Russia’s leading industrialists.
Mikhail Prokhorov Wife, Marriage
According to various sources, Mikhail Prokhorov has never been married, but he has been engaged twice. He, too, does not have any children. We can currently report that he is attempting to establish himself as a politician.