Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov (Russian: Михаил Дмитриевич Прохоров, IPA: [mʲɪxɐˈil ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈproxərəf]; born 3 May 1965) is a Russian-Israeli oligarch and politician.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Prokhorov obtained Russian state-owned metals assets at prices far below market value in Russia's controversial loans-for-shares privatization program.

On his paternal side, his grandparents were Russians, relatively wealthy peasant farmers (known as kulaks) who were persecuted as class enemies under the Bolsheviks and again under Stalin.

[6] His father, one of eight children, grew up poor, after his family "lost everything and was forced to flee from one part of Siberia and restart life in another".

On his maternal side his grandfather was Russian, and his grandmother Anna Belkina, was a Jewish[7][6] microbiologist who remained in Moscow during World War II to make vaccines while her daughter Tamara was moved east to safety.

[6] Mikhail Prokhorov's sister, Irina, who "runs his philanthropic organizations, an erudite literary magazine, and a publishing house ... lives in a wing of his mansion west of Moscow".

In May 1994, Onexim Bank focused on large clients in foreign economic activity especially in the sectors of oil and gas, chemical and metallurgical industries.

In 1994, Onexim became the depository and paying agent for Russian Treasury obligations, and in 1995, it became the authorized bank for the federal agency dealing with bankrupt enterprises.

[13] Banks holding government funds earned handsome fees and paid minimal interest at a time when inflation was in the triple digits.

In November 1995, Onexim Bank won 38% of Norilsk Nickel in a loans-for-shares auction for US$170.1 million, US$100,000 (or less than 1%) higher than the bid starting price.

It was acquired from the Kremlin in a so-called auction for the measly sum of a few hundred million dollars in a process that even Prokhorov's business partner admits wasn't perfect, and probably not even legal under Western standards.

But it was legal in Russia".During the interview, Russian business correspondent Yulia Latynina stated about the auction of Norilsk Nickel, "Yes, it was rigged.

[21] After selling off most of Norilsk's non-mining assets, Prokhorov moved to modernize a highly complex mining operation which required icebreakers to transport metal over the frozen Arctic region.

[23] In May 2007, following the decision to exit Interros, Prokhorov launched the private investment fund ONEXIM Group, with assets valued at US$17 billion at the time.

As the separation from Interros proceeded, and as other industries caught Prokhorov's attention, the group rapidly changed its investment profile.

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.

[citation needed] In September 2008, ONEXIM Group acquired 50% of Renaissance Capital,[24] a major Russian investment bank which has reportedly encountered liquidity problems.

[26] In July 2009, the shareholders of RBC Information Systems agreed with Prokhorov's ONEXIM Group to sell an additional 51% stake for US$80 million, half of which went to pay off debts.

[citation needed] In 2016, Onexim sold its 20% stake in Uralkrali, and is considering selling off assets including United Co. Rusal, Opin PJSC and Quadra.

[27] In January 2022, ONEXIM Group sold 82.47% of the energy company PJSC Quadra [ru] to a subsidiary of Rosatom State Corporation.

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.

[18] 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.

[31] In December 2011, after announcing his run for the Russian presidency, the NBA confirmed that Prokhorov's ownership interest would not need to be altered in the event of his election (Herb Kohl, a then sitting but since retired U.S.

[37][38] On 27 October, ESPN reported that Prokhorov had agreed to sell the 49 percent to Taiwanese-Canadian businessman Joseph Tsai, co-founder and executive vice chairman of Alibaba.

[42] At a Christmas party for the Russian nouveau riche at the French Alpine resort of Courchevel in January 2007, he was arrested on suspicion of arranging prostitutes for his guests.

[49] 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.

[31] While not antagonistic to the Kremlin, the party was seen as likely to support President Dmitry Medvedev rather than Prime Minister Vladimir Putin if the latter entered the 2012 presidential race.

[51] However, in September 2011, Prokhorov reversed course and resigned from Right Cause, "condemning it as a 'puppet Kremlin party' micromanaged by a 'puppet master' in the president's office ... Vladislav Y.

[56] The raids were officially described as part of an investigation into another bank but the FSB reported that tax violations were discovered at "a number of commercial structures".

[69] Walden said he believes 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.