39 Facts About Mikhail Prokhorov

Mikhail Prokhorov is the former chairman of Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold producer, and the former President of Onexim Group.

In 2011, Mikhail Prokhorov ran as an independent candidate in the 2012 Russian presidential election.

Mikhail Prokhorov was third in voting, amassing 7.98 percent of the total vote.

Mikhail Prokhorov was born in Moscow to Tamara and Dmitri Mikhail Prokhorov.

Dmitri Mikhail Prokhorov was trained as a lawyer and handled international relations for the Soviet Committee of Physical Culture and Sport.

Mikhail Prokhorov's wife worked as an engineer for a research group at the institute specializing in plastics.

In 1992, at the age of 27, Mikhail Prokhorov partnered with Potanin to run Interros, a holding company that they used in 1995 to effect the purchase of Norilsk Nickel, one of Russia's largest nickel and palladium mining and smelting companies.

Mikhail Prokhorov held the post of chairman of the board from 1992 until 1993.

In 1993, Mikhail Prokhorov became the chairman of the board for Potanin's Onexim Bank, which, in 1993, became the paying agent for Finance Ministry bonds and a servicing bank for the City of Moscow's external economic activities.

In December 2011, Mikhail Prokhorov capped a year of higher-profile political activity in Russia with the December declaration that he would run as an independent in the 2012 presidential elections.

Mikhail Prokhorov resigned his positions as Chairman of Polyus Gold and President of the ONEXIM Group to enter politics in June 2011.

Mikhail Prokhorov invested in an innovative Finnish freighter that did not require icebreakers.

Environmental and labor conditions are harsh, and pollution remains a problem; Mikhail Prokhorov has invested heavily in pollution control.

Mikhail Prokhorov resigned as Norilsk CEO in February 2007 and declared his intention to separate his assets from those of long-time partner Vladimir Potanin.

Mikhail Prokhorov emerged as one of the very few businessmen to have cashed out in time.

In June 2007, the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Prokhorov Fradkov, announced the formation of the Government Council for Nanotechnology, to oversee the development of nanotechnology in the country.

Mikhail Prokhorov was one of 15 individuals appointed to the council, which was to be chaired by then-First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.

Mikhail Prokhorov has business interests in mining and metallurgy, financial services, utilities, nanotech, media and real estate development.

In March 2004, Prokhorov founded the Cultural Initiatives Foundation.

Mikhail Prokhorov serves as president of the Russian Biathlon Union.

Mikhail Prokhorov became the first non-North American team owner in the NBA.

In October 2017, reports continued to circulate that Mikhail Prokhorov was moving closer to closing the sale of 49 percent of the Brooklyn Nets.

On 18 September 2019, Mikhail Prokhorov sold the remaining 51 percent of the Nets to Tsai.

In September 2009, Mikhail Prokhorov was officially cleared from this charge and the court case was dismissed.

Mikhail Prokhorov had run the Russian Biathlon Union from 2008 to 2014 and offered legal services to disqualified Russian biathletes.

Mikhail Prokhorov is one of many "Russian oligarchs" named in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017.

In May 2011, Mikhail Prokhorov announced a plan to join the leadership of the Russian pro-business political party Right Cause.

In June of that year, Mikhail Prokhorov was elected to the leadership of the party at the Right Cause Party Congress of 2011.

At the acceptance ceremony, Mikhail 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 2014, Mikhail Prokhorov announced that he was considering moving control of his ownership in the Brooklyn Nets to one of his Russian-based subsidiaries, in an attempt to comply with Putin's order, signed into law in 2013, that no Russian politicians should have foreign assets and equity, and that all Russian companies should be registered and pay tax locally.

In 2016, Mikhail Prokhorov ran afoul of Putin when his media group Onexim, specifically RBC Media, published articles and news reports on the Panama Papers and Putin's son-in-law Kirill Shamalov's connections and offshore assets.

In 2015, Mikhail Prokhorov resigned as leader of the party and left it.

In December 2011, after the legislative elections, Mikhail Prokhorov announced that he would contest the 2012 presidential election against Vladimir Putin as an independent.

Mikhail Prokhorov called it "probably the most important decision of my life".

Mikhail Prokhorov collected 2 million signatures needed to allow him to run for the presidency.

Mikhail Prokhorov said he would not base his campaign on criticism of Putin.

Walden said he believes Mikhail Prokhorov's lawsuit was intentionally designed to uncover Rodchenkov's whereabouts in the United States and allow agents of the Russian government to find him.

Mikhail Prokhorov has never been married, but has been engaged twice.

In July 2015, he rescinded the pledge, saying that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had "taken his place" by marrying in May While Mikhail Prokhorov was romantically linked to Ksenia Sobchak in the media, he has not named any specific woman as a possible bride, only that he might marry, and has never done so.