A Russian billionaire recently bought the New Jersey Nets basketball team. Don't worry this isn't just a story for sports fans. The reason I bring this up is because this mogul, Mikhail Prokhorov, runs all of his businesses without the use of most modern technologies. He doesn't own a cell phone. He doesn't have an email address. His response to whether he uses a computer is "I don't use a computer. We have too much information and it's really impossible to filter it." Sounds pretty refreshing to me.On one hand I couldn't just tell my employer that I don't have an email address anymore, but this guy is worth 13.4 billion dollars and he's done it all without these tools we covet. Is he a visionary and a role model, or just some lucky guy that takes advantage of unique entrepreneurial circumstances?
Regardless of what you think about Prokhorov and his stance on technology, you should check him out because he is certainly an interesting character. How he became wealthy sounds a bit sketchy, but that's only the start of it. I've attached the link to the 60 minutes clip on him when he bought the Nets. He also paid a Hollywood movie budget to professionally film him doing jet ski stunts. The video is on YouTube. It is hilarious.
The fact that a video he paid for is on YouTube--a venue he can't access without a computer--is pretty ironic to me.
ReplyDeleteI need to channel my obsessiveness into becoming a billionaire...I always tell my students the love of reading and writing doesn't pay the bills...
ReplyDeletethat is, the love of reading and writing ALONE doesn't pay the bills...had to clean up those words on a metaphysical level in order to manifest my abundance...abundance is mine!
ReplyDelete