Snobs

Russia's Richest Man Backs Out on $750 Million Mansion

It seems that Russia's new richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, may not have been telling the whole truth when he denied buying the world's most expensive house, the $750 million Villa Leopolda (above) on the French Riviera, last year. Back in August we reported that the metals magnate was the mysterious purchaser of the eye-popping property, but Prokhorov, who's worth $14.1 billion, protested his innocence, saying he declined to do business in France because of a mix-up with some prostitutes and the French police. Now the London Times reports that Prokhorov signed a contract on the property and paid a $55 million deposit, but wants to back out of the deal.

Prokhorov reportedly lost $7 billion in the economic crisis but has fared better than fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich. Prokhorov will likely face a legal battle over the deposit, which is non-refundable under French law, with the Villa's seller Lily Safra. "Lily is adamant that she's not handing the deposit back," a source close to the deal tells the London Daily Mail. "Mr. Prokhorov, in turn, claims that property prices have collapsed since August, and the figures originally discussed were unreasonable. He wants out, and he wants his money back." We expect Prokhorov, founder of a new magazine for snobs, will likely issue another denial this time as well.

Tags: France, French Riviera, FrenchRiviera, Lily Safra, LilySafra, Mikhail Prokhorov, MikhailProkhorov, Roman Abramovich, RomanAbramovich, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Snobs, Villa Leopolda, VillaLeopolda

Russian Billionaire Debuts His Magazine for Snobs

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

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.

Tags: Magazines, mikhail prokhorov, MikhailProkhorov, Russia, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Snobs

Mystery Buyer of World's Most Expensive House Revealed

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The mysterious billionaire who just bought the world's most expensive house - the $750 million Villa Leopolda (above) on the French Riviera - is none other than controversial Russian precious metals mogul Mikhail Prokhorov, the AFP reports. Luxist readers may remember Prokhorov as the over-the-top tycoon who announced plans in April to spend $150 million launching a magazine for snobs in Russia, called simply Snob. Prokhorov is ranked as the 24th richest man in the world with a $22 billion fortune. Some earlier reports had erroneously identified the villa's buyer as Roman Abramovich. Last year Prokhorov was briefly detained during an investigation into a suspected prostitution ring at the ritzy ski resort he frequents in the French Alps.

Tags: French Riviera, FrenchRiviera, La Leopolda, LaLeopolda, Magazines, Mikhail Prokhorov, MikhailProkhorov, prostitution ring, ProstitutionRing, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Snobs, Villa Leopolda, VillaLeopolda

"Dizzy Diamond Heiress" Dances at Snob Mag Soir�e

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

This whole magazines for snobs thing has been much on our minds lately, and yet in all the excitement we seem to have overlooked a major contender in the category: Social Life, a self-described "luxury lifestyle and fashion" periodical based in New York. Social Life came to our attention as we were browsing the week's party photos taken by our friend Patrick McMullan.

It seems the magazine threw itself a party the other night at members only club Soho House to celebrate its latest issue. The event was attended by Anabel Vartanian, dubbed the "Dizzy Diamond Heiress" by the New York Observer; attention-loving Internet celebrity Emily Brill; and someone with the implausible moniker "Princess Charlotte de Broglie" - basically exactly the crowd one would expect at a soirée for something called Social Life.

Intrigued, we looked up the magazine's website, where we came across the following emetic mission statement: "Our readers turn to Social Life to see photos of themselves, their friends, and their families - we feature pictures of exclusive charity events, elegant dinner parties, the exuberance of Polo [sic] and the hottest nights at high-end clubs."

In other words: "We write about People Like Us." Or, more accurately perhaps, "What people who are more like us than they think think People Like Us are like."

Tags: Anabel Vartanian, AnabelVartanian, Emily Brill, EmilyBrill, Magazines, Patrick McMullan, PatrickMcmullan, Snobs, Social Life magazine, SocialLifeMagazine, Soho House, SohoHouse

More Magazines for Snobs

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

On Thursday we told you about the Russian tycoon who's planning to launch a new $150 million magazine for snobs, inventively titled Snob, for "people who are successful and those who want to be successful." We included a photo gallery of some of the titles such as Quest already languishing on newsstands that seem to fulfill that bold mission.

As it turns out, our Russian friend is entering a fairly crowded field. Following some suggestions we received, we now present a further assortment of Snob rags for your viewing pleasure.

Warning: subscribing to the full collection of all ten may result in you're being charged under some sort of arcane sumptuary law. Or it should, anyway.

Gallery: More Magazines for Snobs

Tags: Magazines, Quest, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Snobs

Russian Tycoon to Launch Magazine for Snobs

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Russian precious metals mogul Mikhail Prokhorov, ranked as the 24th richest man in the world with a $22 billion fortune, is set to launch a magazine called Snob for his fellow plutocrats. Prokhorov plans to invest $150 million in the venture, which will eventually include a website and TV station as well, Reuters reports. Andrei Shmarov, who's helming the project, says the magazine will be for "people who are successful and those who want to be successful."

Shmarov is at pains to point out that in Russia, "snob" isn't a pejorative term. "Snob to us means a person who is a 'self-made man', a person who has gained a right to snobbishness," he explains. "It's not pleasant to boast about your wealth when you have inherited it but when you have made it yourself, well it is still not very nice, but it is justified." At least in a country where a measly billion dollars won't even land you a spot on the rich list. Check out their competition below.

Gallery: Magazines for Snobs