Russian Billionaire Thirsts For Expensive Wine, Mediocre Basketball

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Mikhail Prokhorov
What better to follow up a meeting with a handful of NBA owners than a $19,000 lunch? That’s right, nothing, which is why Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who is looking to purchase the floundering New Jersey Nets and bring then into Brooklyn, stopped into Nello on the Upper East Side Wednesday with a few friends, the Post reported.

Their check included $825 for three orders of truffle tagliolini; $600 for four orders of truffle carpaccio; $210 for three orders of veal chops with mushrooms; and $72 for six large waters. Yes, $72 for six large waters. Prokhorov, with an estimated fortune of $9.5 billion, reached a tentative agreement with current Nets owner and developer Bruce Ratner last month to pay $200 million up front and an unspecified amount of future funding to acquire an 80 percent stake in the Nets and a 45 percent share of the $800 million Barclays Center project in Brooklyn.

Nello Balan, owner of the restaurant, told the Post, “[Prokhorov] said that as of January he would own the Nets, and is looking forward to being a very big part of New York." Now if Prokhorov doesn’t have a problem splurging in a $15 bowl of chicken soup, just imagine how much the burgers at the Barclays Center could run you, maybe even more than a hot chocolate in the Bronx.

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Comments (4) [rss]

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$19,000 to him is like $1.90 to any normal person. Multi billionaires should be required by law to spend this kind of money every day, sort of like that movie with Richard Pryor in it.

I remember when Bill Gates spent 90 million on his house, based on his net worth at the time it was the equilavent of US median worker spending $5 on their house.

I thought Jay-Z owned the Nets? Could be wrong.

Note to Ratner: if you want top dollar for your shitty team, just roll them in truffles.

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