Historical Figures Codexery

Marc Rich

Belgian-American commodities trader and founder of Glencore, indicted for tax evasion and trading with Iran, later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

Marc Rich

bilanz.ch · via Wikipedia: Marc Rich · Fair use

Marc Rich was a Belgian-American commodities trader who founded the company that became Glencore.[1] He fled to Switzerland after being indicted on charges including tax evasion and trading with Iran during the hostage crisis.[1]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Marcell David Reich
Born
18 December 1934
Birthplace
Antwerp, Belgium
Died
26 June 2013
Place of death
Lucerne, Switzerland
Known for
Banking, trading activities
Occupation
Founder of Glencore
Citizenship
  • Belgium
  • Bolivia
  • United States
  • Israel
  • Spain

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Rich told biographer Daniel Ammann that his most profitable deals came from violating international trade embargoes.[2][3] Rich was indicted in 1983 on 65 criminal counts including tax evasion and racketeering.[4] Marc Rich was born Marcell David Reich in Antwerp, Belgium, on December 18, 1934, to a Jewish family; his parents emigrated with him to the United States in 1941, traveling via Vichy France, Spain, Portugal, and the liner Serpa Pinto to escape the Nazis.[1][5] After attending Rhodes Preparatory School in Manhattan and then New York University, Rich left university following one semester to begin working at Philipp Brothers in 1954.[6]

Rich arranged for Iranian oil to be delivered to Israel via a concealed pipeline, and due to his strong connections with Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini, he facilitated introductions for Mossad agents within Iran.[7][3] On June 26, 2013, Rich passed away from a stroke while at a hospital in Lucerne.[8]

What the cited sources add

The Guardian reported that Rich was credited with inventing the spot oil market and founded Glencore.[3] Ammann wrote that Rich admitted doing his most important trades by breaking international embargoes and dealing with apartheid South Africa.[9] A former Mossad officer provided insight into Rich's special relationship with Israel and services he provided to the Jewish state.[9] The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the Anti-Defamation League acknowledged Rich was a donor and that Abraham Foxman met with congressional investigators about the pardon.[10]

The Guardian stated that Rich financed Israeli intelligence operations helping Jews leave Yemen and Ethiopia.[3]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Marc Rich" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ammann, "The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich", St. Martin's Press, 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Marc Rich" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rankin, "Marc Rich: controversial commodities trader and former fugitive dies aged 78", The Guardian, 2013-06-26; Baghdjian, "Marc Rich, 'King of Oil' pardoned by Clinton, dies at 78", Reuters, June 26, 2013; Ammann, "How I met the biggest devil", HuffPost, November 23, 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Rankin, "Marc Rich: controversial commodities trader and former fugitive dies aged 78", The Guardian, 2013-06-26. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  4. Wikipedia, "Marc Rich" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Henry, "Marc Rich, fugitive commodities trader in the 1980s, dies at 78", Bloomberg L.P., June 26, 2013; Martin, "Marc Rich, Pardoned Financier, Dies at 78", The New York Times, June 26, 2013; Martin, "Marc Rich, Pardoned Financier, Dies at 78", The New York Times, June 26, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Marc Rich" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brookes, "King of oil" discloses his "secret lives"", SWI (swissinfo.ch), Nov 14, 2009; Reich, "Pardon Reignites Jewish Stereotypes", Los Angeles Times, 2001-02-25; Brookes, "King of oil" discloses his "secret lives"", SWI (swissinfo.ch), Nov 14, 2009; Hill, "'King of Oil' who became a target for US", Financial Times, June 26, 2013; Williams, "NS business profile: Marc Rich, Glencore's fugitive founder", New Statesman (newstatesman.com), 10 October 2012; Ammann, "The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich", St. Martin's Press, 2009, p. 31 en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Marc Rich" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Henry, "Marc Rich, fugitive commodities trader in the 1980s, dies at 78", Bloomberg L.P., June 26, 2013; Henry, "Marc Rich, fugitive commodities trader in the 1980s, dies at 78", Bloomberg L.P., June 26, 2013; Koepp, "Marc Rich's Road to Riches (part 1)", 3 October 1983; Koepp, "Marc Rich's Road to Riches (part 2)", 3 October 1983; Koepp, "Marc Rich's Road to Riches (part 3)", 3 October 1983; Koepp, "Marc Rich's Road to Riches (part 4)", 3 October 1983 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Marc Rich" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ammann, Daniel, "The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich", St. Martin's Press, October 13, 2009; Dattel, "Marc Rich, the Man Who Sold Iranian Oil to Israel", Haaretz, June 27, 2013; Mouawad, "Book on Marc Rich Details His Iran Oil Deals", The New York Times, 2009-10-16; "Marc Rich, king of commodities, died on June 26th, aged 78", The Economist (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Marc Rich" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Martin, "Marc Rich, Pardoned Financier, Dies at 78", The New York Times, June 26, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Ammann, "How I met the biggest devil", HuffPost, November 23, 2009. facts only, no text reused. huffingtonpost.com
  10. "Foxman Meets with Investigators, Admits ADL Took Money from Rich", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 21, 2001. facts only, no text reused. jta.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Marc Rich (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Explorers & Business

Elsewhere in Historical Figures

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →