Russians are getting their own version of "the Donald" as metals magnate Vladimir Potanin is ready to be the host of his own TNT prime-time reality show which will be called "The Candidate."
Russians will hear the famous words "You're fired!" in their own tongue - Vy uvoleny!
"But unlike Potanin's American counterpart, who hardly needs to convince his viewing audience of the merits of capitalism, the oligarch faces something of a PR battle -- created, in part, by himself. Potanin and Alexander Mitroshenkov, the show's producer, said they hoped the new series, slated to begin running in mid-August for 14 weeks, would help change negative attitudes toward the rich.
"I want people, in particular the young, to understand that success in life and in business is not manna from heaven but the result of hard work, study and self-improvement," Potanin said.
"People love showmen, and they forgive them even when they do something wrong," Leontyev said. "He is a first-generation oligarch, and like all of them he shares a kind of decadent personality. This is very good for show business."
Potanin, 45, is much better known to Russians than Trump and is three times as rich as the American. According to the U.S. edition of Forbes magazine, which last month published a list of the world's richest people, Potanin's empire of nickel mining, banking and property holdings was worth $6.4 billion, compared with Trump's paltry $2.6 billion.
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