Mikhail D. Prokhorov.
Prokhorov is known throughout the world and especially in Russia for his lavish lifestyle. He was satirized on a Russian TV commercial for his love of travelling the world in a private jet in the company of beautiful women.[citation needed]
At an annual two-week Christmas party for the Russian rich at the French Alpine resort of Courchevel in January 2007, he was arrested for allegedly arranging prostitutes for his guests.[7] After four days he was released without charge.[8]
In September 2009, Prokhorov was officially cleared from this charge and the judicial case was dismissed.[9] According to his blog[10], he even received apologies from French officials during his visit to France in November 2009.
In June 2009, the magazine "Russian Pioneer", owned by Prokhorov, organized a party for selected guests, including the governor of Saint-Petersburg Valentina Matvienko and other prominent government and business figures, aboard the Russian cruiser Avrora. Press reports of the party caused outrage among some Russians, since the ship is supposed to be a naval museum. Prokhorov later proposed to cover the costs of transferring the ship from the Ministry of Defense to the city of Saint-Petersburg and upgrading the museum facilities.[citation needed]
Prokhorov made headlines in early March of 2010 when he was forced to forfeit a £36 million deposit he placed on the £360 million Villa Leopolda in the French Riviera in 2008. Under French property law, once an initial sale contract has been signed, a deposit can only be refunded during a seven day cooling-off period. On March 2, 2010, a court in Nice, France ruled that the villa's owner, 71-year-old Lily Safra, widow of deceased billionaire banker Edmund Safra, could keep the £36 million deposit, plus £1 million in interest.