Nets' (Soon-to-Be) Owner Reportedly Drops $19K on Lunch

The uber-rich are people, too, right? Well, they may put their pants on one leg at a time, but they certainly don't eat meals like we do.

Consider this: Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire expected to purchase a majority stake in the New Jersey Nets, recently celebrated a positive meeting with the NBA's governors by having lunch with a half dozen friends. What's the big deal, right?

Well, according to the New York Post, his tab for lunch at Nello's, a tony restaurant in New York's Upper East Side, was nearly $19,000. How exactly does one eat the cost equivalent of a mid-size sedan? Keep reading to find out.

The Post obtained a copy of the receipt:

Besides pricey booze, the mogul from Moscow and the men and women in his party spared no expense on food.

Their check included $825 for three orders of truffle tagliolini; $600 for four orders of truffle carpaccio; $210 for three orders of veal chops with mushrooms; and $72 for six large waters.

Not to mention $15 for a bowl of chicken soup.

The lunch was topped off with a $5,000 bottle of vintage 1998 Chateau Petrus and two bottles of 2002 Montrachet Latour for $3,600.

All in all, the bill topped $15,000, not including 25 percent ($3,750!) for gratuity. It's not everyday a waiter gets a tip that can pay for a semester of college.

While Prokhorov hasn't officially purchased the Nets just yet, he's expected to be approved by the NBA's Board of Governors very soon. He's already received the stamp of approval from NBA commissioner David Stern, who hailed Prokhorov's interest in the Nets as a positive sign for the NBA as a whole.

"We think it's a good thing that the attractiveness of the NBA has begun to attract billionaires that are not located only in the United States," Stern told reporters during a conference call on Friday. "[One] of the most successful leagues by many measures, the English Premier Leagues, has 20 teams, and 10 of those are owned by ownership groups that are not located within England. So we think it's good that the NBA is being recognized as an asset worthy of global investment."

Stern unfortunately wasn't asked whether $1,425 for truffles was a wise investment, but Nets fans have to be pleased: a guy who shells out 20 large to fill his stomach seems like he'd also be a guy who doesn't t blink twice at paying a luxury tax.

Are you listening, LeBron?