It's hard to work out if Lebedev worries about whether people see him as a spoilt, rich dilettante. His watchfulness makes me think that maybe he does – but it could just be the default demeanour of any well known billionaire. It isn't hard to see why a lot of people think he is gay, but when I ask how he feels about that, he says: "I couldn't care, to be honest with you. I find those discussions quite funny. I actually find it flattering." Given current attitudes towards homosexuality in Russia, I'd imagine it would be quite difficult for Lebedev to come out if he were gay, but he says: "No, if I was, I'd come out."
Evgeny Lebedev, the Russian billionaire owner of the Independent and Evening Standard, and quite the colourful, flamboyant etc etc young international playboy, is
profiled by The Guardian.
A friend of Elton John, Ian McKellen and Peter Mandelson, but clearly not a friend of Dorothy.
His new TV station,
London Live, launches March 31st.
Naturally, he will be appearing on it regularly.
Ev also gives us more views on Russia and The Gays...
"Russia is not a homophobic country. No. When the whole thing about Russia's gay laws blew up, and there was talk of boycotting the Sochi Olympics, I said that's absolutely the wrong thing to do, because isolating and ostracising a country is like isolating somebody who is going slightly mad. But you put them in a madness asylum they get madder and madder and completely lose their mind, whereas if you work with them, they get better."
NB Like his father and business partner, Alexander Lebedev - one of your actual Russian oligarchs - Evgeny is feather-spittingly anti-Putin.
The Independent probably held the record for running Putin-bashing stories about Sochi and The Gays [See Fagburn
passim].
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