Trump TV show inspires Russian copycat

Russian billionaire and parliamentary deputy Alexander Lebedev is producing a reality television programme to help Russians make money from business, following the lead of Donald Trump.

Lebedev, 45, an intelligence officer in the Soviet era, has spent millions of dollars in the past few months financing a show called Chance, tracking groups trying to set up small businesses in Moscow.

US tycoon Trump, Richard Branson, the British creator of Virgin Group, and Alan Sugar, founder of the Amstrad electronics business, also started reality programmes, which have been growing in popularity in Russia.

"Business is an interesting game and if you make it as a reality show, you can attract people," said Lebedev, Russia's 26th richest citizen with a net worth of US$1.6 billion ($2.3 billion).

"Most of the reality shows on TV today are vulgar, filled with lies like in Soviet times."

In Chance, five groups of four individuals try to build a small business from scratch using US$100,000 supplied by the billionaire. The first group that manages to build up the company to a value of US$500,000 wins.

The winning team can sell the company to an investment group set up by Lebedev for US$500,000 or keep it.

Lebedev, who advises the groups on strategy, has not sold the programme rights to any station yet.

"I want to make a programme that is clever, to teach people something," he said. "No one teaches you to be successful in small business here, not in the schools, not in universities."

Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref, who appears in the programme, was "quite excited" about the show.

The 16 contestants live in two apartments in a Moscow suburb, one for men and one for women. More than 1000 hours of the show have been filmed since July.

Lebedev controls the Moscow-based National Reserve Bank, which owns about 30 per cent of Aeroflot, the nation's largest airline, and about 36 per cent of Ilyushin Finance, which finances plane construction.

He was president of the bank before being elected to the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, in December 2003.

The same month, Lebedev ran for Mayor of Moscow, Europe's largest city with more than 10 million people, pledging to double its budget to US$20 billion within two years by rooting out corruption.

The incumbent, Yuri Luzhkov, won a third four-year term with more than 70 per cent of the vote.

Lebedev said part of his motivation for making Chance was to document the difficulties entrepreneurs faced in Moscow.

"I want to have as much reality on that tape to show the state how it is blocking the efforts of small businesses," he said.

"I will give it to the Government and Luzhkov so they can see for themselves what is wrong here."

- BLOOMBERG