It’s not really clear why, even before his purchase of the Nets has officially gone through, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is suddenly putting himself in the public eye–showing off his AK to 60 Minutes last night, sitting for an extended Bloomberg Television interview, and cooperating with a separate Bloomberg Markets profile that also went up today–but there he is, seeming rather brash and uncoached. 

Some things we have learned from Mr. Prokhorov in the past 24 hours:

–He’s only looked at the internet three times, and his assistants update his Live Journal blog with scraps of paper he gives them.

–Instead of a computer, there is a plate of fruit and nuts on his desk.

–Seasickness prevents him from spending much time on his yacht.

–He has never been drunk or tasted vodka.

–He lives with his sister, who runs a literary journal.

–He paid a bribe once, many years ago.

He tells all three outlets that he’s not an oligarch, but it’s Bloomberg TV‘s Ryan Chilcote who grills him on how he made his money. Asked how he was able to avoid the country’s corruption, Mr. Prokhorov replies: “Do you know the difference between a rat and a hamster?” And then answer it himself: “A hamster has better p.r.”

Mr. Chilcote also learns that, just to be sure it was okay, Mr. Prokhorov ran his plans by President Obama.

“I received information that President Medvedev was going to United States and in his agenda, meeting with President Obama. I called one of his assistants and explained to him, ‘I’m going to be the owner of an NBA club. Is it convenient to speak to the President what is his opinion, etc., etc.?’”

“After the trip, this assistant called me back, saying it’s okay, they had a conversation, all the political formalities was done. But it was my initiative.”

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