Russian Billionaire Debuts His Magazine for Snobs

Back in April we reported that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov (right) was planning to spend $150 million launching a new magazine for snobs. Now the first issue of Snob is about to go on sale with a cover price of $18, but it isn't just a gaudy homage to the oligarch lifestyle as lived by Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich and his compatriots.

"A close look at both the target audience and the contents of Snob show that it doesn't promote the free-spending, bling-drenched stereotype made famous across the world by rich Russians in recent years," the London Independent notes. "While celebrating personal and financial success, it does so in a rather more restrained and worldly way." Too bad - we were kind of hoping for something a little more over-the-top.