« Moscow Editorial on Prokhorov's Attempt to Purchase the NJ Nets | Main | Russian Dressing? »
September 25, 2009
Billionaires at Play: Mike Versus Mikhail
The New York Times
by James Barron
The Times hasn't taken a hard look at security concerns about the planned Nets' arena, shenanigans with Atlantic Yards-footprint land valuations, or the blatant giveaway of the Vanderbilt Yard for a fraction of its value, but which Manhattan strip club might Mikhail Prokhorov favor? That they've got ink for.
New York’s reigning billionaire, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, cares little for most sports but plays a lot of golf. He likes discreet dinner parties at Gracie Mansion or his own mansion. He wants his private life kept private.
New York’s latest billionaire, Mikhail D. Prokhorov, loves basketball, kickboxing and skiing. He probably wishes his private life could be kept private: Consider the four days he spent in custody in an Alpine ski resort in 2007 when investigators suspected call girls were being brought in. He was quoted as saying they were students and models, not prostitutes.
So maybe the incumbent billionaire Mike and the new billionaire Mike, the Russian oligarch who is poised to become the principal owner of the New Jersey Nets and a major investor in the team’s proposed arena in Brooklyn, will feast upon New York in different ways.
Posted by eric at September 25, 2009 11:08 AM