Mikhail Prokhorov PIans To Run Against Vladimir Putin

By: Rob Adams
12/13/2011 08:46 AM ET

Mikhail Prokhorov – Mikhail Prokhorov to run for presidency against Vladimir Putin.

The Russian billionaire entrepreneur most definitely has the funds to back him. The 46-year-old sold most of his assets prior to the global economic crash.

In December after the legislative elections, Mikhail Prokhorov announced that he would contest the 2012 presidential election against Vladimir Putin as an independent. Prokhorov called it at the time “probably the most important decision of my life.”

Mikhail has a reputation of a financial sage. Shortly, following the global economy crash in 2008, the bank executive turned investor sold off many of his minerals assets. He says that he was “inspired partly by good planning, partly by fortune.”

“In business you need to have luck,” he told CNN’s Matthew Chance. “Sometimes you have great strategy, but something goes wrong. You can’t cover all the risks in your life.”

What awards does Prokhorov have?

In 2006 he was awarded the Order of Friendship for his significant contribution to the growth of Russia’s economic potential. In 2011 France’s ambassador to Moscow, Jean de Gliniastrance, bestowed Prokhorov with the National Order of the Legion of Honor.

Tags: Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia