Russian nickel magnate Mikhail Prokhorov has said he is “ready” to marry to win the presidency at next March’s election.
“If that is needed for the country and for victory in the presidential elections, then I am ready even for that,” Prokhorov said at a news conference on Thursday.
Prokhorov, a 46-year-old bachelor, Russia’s third richest man and the owner of the U.S. NBA New Jersey Nets basketball team, declared his intention to stand for the Russian presidency earlier this week. He said it was “the most serious decision” of his life.
He headed the pro-business Right Cause party for four months before being ousted in September, something he blamed on Kremlin strategist Vladislav Surkov. Prokhorov then said he would push for Surkov’s dismissal.
Prokhorov is said to have made a pledge as a teenager not to marry before he was 42.
