Janet CollinsFrom Homeless to Stock Market Trader?
October 15th 2009 05:03
Leonid Konovalov
On Tuesday, the Russian newspaper, Tvoi Den, ran a story about Leonid Konovalov, a longtime homeless man who had pulled himself out of poverty and made a bit of a killing on the stock market by collecting 2,000 bottles a day over the past year and investing the money – or so he told the newspaper.
Thanks to Russia’s container deposit legislation (bottles can fetch the equivalent of $US0.06) and Russians drinking so much since the economic downturn, Konovalov says, he was able to turn his life around. In fact, he says his grandchildren talked him into taking risks on the stock market and his first transaction was equivalent to $US74,120. This story was also picked up by Reuters.
Is this a stock market success story or a complete con?
A simple calculation would automatically put a big hole in the story of the 63 year old ex-engineer who has been living as a homeless person for 20 years.
In April this year, Russia Today, told a very different version of the story of Mr Konovalov, who they said was not as poverty stricken as many thought. In fact, Mr Konovalov, an ex-military man, owns his own home and, by his own admission, made a choice to live as a homeless person.
Konovalov may not be the first person in the world to choose to live this way but this professional bottle collector decided his story was worth a film and earlier this year became actor, writer and director in a film about his fraught relationship with society. His European resident daughter helped him get the film all the way to Cannes. It may not have had a viewing there but it was not eliminated on the first cull either.
Many may believe his story nationally and internationally but in the Kemerovo region in Siberia where he lives, people have often seen him well-dressed at the theatre and locals believe he has more money than he knows what to do with. According to Russia Today, Konovalov even managed to take a trip to the United States in the 90s.
Eccentric maybe but Konovalov has been able to sell his story – or a story – to newspapers this week as being something new. According to Russia Today back in April, he was already promoting his film and selling his story to fund his next project.
Mr Konovalov may have been living on the streets for a long time but his claims of poverty appear to be a total fabrication.
Sourced: www.reuters.com; www.russiatoday.ru
Image Credit: www.russiatoday.ru
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Comment by Jason King
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Comment by Janet Collins
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Konovalov is obviously homeless and most probably pretty eccentric but the real issue is that I don't think he was ever poverty-stricken, so it's not a REAL rags to riches story - although it could have been.
Still, it's an interesting story for two reasons. One that he chooses to live that way when he could live comfortably at home and two because someone probably could get rich from disgarded bottles.
Bring back container deposit legislation I say. It could get some people back on their feet and it would clean up all the discarded bottles that people just dump in the streets.
Thanks for dropping in.
Comment by Chris Champion
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Comment by Janet Collins
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About your statistic......on the reverse of this, if there were only 2% working and 98% unemployed, would this be classified as total unemployment because the 2% in work wanted to be there anyway?,,,,,,,Just a thought.
Comment by Wilson Pon
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