ASPEN ” One possible sign of the troubled economic times is the rumor that Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich reportedly has canceled a New Year’s Eve party for 60 or more at the high-toned Pinons restaurant in Aspen.

The restaurant’s maitre d’, Frank Chock, declined to say much about the matter.

“Nobody really knew about it, and it wasn’t supposed to get out. We’re fine, we’ve got our regular New Year’s reservations,” he said. Owner Rob Mobilian could not be reached.

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An attempt to reach Abramovich at his Aspen-area home was unsuccessful.

Abramovich, 42, is based in London and owner of the Chelsea soccer team in London, but also is a part-time Aspen resident.

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According to Forbes magazine’s website, he was orphaned as a young child, grew up with relatives and dropped out of law school before getting in on the ground floor of Russia’s tempestuous switch to capitalism in the 1990s.

In Forbes’ listing of the world’s top billionaires, which ranked him No. 15, it was reported that Abramovich recently finalized a divorce from the mother of his five children, Irina, and now largely stays out of the public eye.

He was considered to be the second richest person currently living in the United Kingdom in 2008, and was said to be worth nearly $23 billion last spring, according to the London Sunday Times’ “Rich List.”

In May of this year, he reportedly bought a 200-acre property in the Wildcat subdivision outside of Snowmass Village, from the estate of American businessman Leon Hirsch, founder of U.S. Surgical Corp.

jcolson@aspentimes.com