It might be a good idea to have a new campaign photo taken, as the one behind him isn't the most flattering.

The Russian tycoon is 42 years old and a bachelor. His fortune, at $15-18 billion, puts him in fifth place among the country's richest men. He got his start in banking and bought a nickel mine which is the source of his wealth. More about the Russian oligarchs from The Guardian.

Forbes.com has a profile of Prokhorov, who also owns the New Jersey Nets and is a stakeholder in the planned Atlantic Yards complex in New York City.

According to the New York Times:

MOSCOW — There were no balloons or streamers at the hastily arranged news conference on Monday where Mikhail D. Prokhorov announced that he would challenge Vladimir V. Putin in this spring’s presidential elections: just Mr. Prokhorov on the podium, looking grave.

Mr. Prokhorov, the billionaire who is majority owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball franchise, became famous in Russia as a playboy, with the tabloid nickname “the Holiday Man.” He has long walked a fine line in his relationship with the Kremlin, maintaining a degree of independence while rebels among his fellow oligarchs ended up in exile or in prison.

Mr. Prokhorov’s announcement, which prompted gasps from reporters in the room, was the latest wild card in a week that seemed to return real politics to Russia. Tens of thousands of middle-class urbanites gathered Saturday to vent their anger over tainted and noncompetitive elections. Aleksei L. Kudrin, a longtime Putin adviser and former finance minister, declared Monday that he plans to help found a party to represent reform-minded voters. Continue reading...