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Top 10 Facts about Marc Rich

Image of Marc Rich.

Marc Rich was born in 1934 to a Jewish family in Antwerp, Belgium. 

He was an international commodities trader, hedge fund manager, financier, businessman, and alleged financial crimes. 

He founded the commodities company Glencore, He was later indicted in the United States on several federal charges 

Including; Tax evasion, wire fraud, racketeering, and making oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. 

Let’s take a look at some of the top facts about him;

1. He Went into Exile from the USA

Rich who was indicted for several federal charges fled to Switzerland at the time of the indictment and never returned to the United States.

He received a widely criticized presidential pardon from U.S. President Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001, Clinton’s last day in office. 

He however did not return to the USA again. Rich’s ex-wife Denise had made large donations to the Democratic Party.

2. His Parents were Jewish Immigrants from Belgium

Rich was born in 1934 in Antwerp,  Belgium to Jewish parents who migrated to the USA in 1941 via France for fear of the Nazis. 

After arriving in the USA his father opened a jewellery store in Kansas City, Missouri, then later moved the family to Queens, New York City in 1950.

He started a company that imported Bengali jute to make burlap bags and later started a business trading agricultural products.

He helped found the American Bolivian Bank (Banco Boliviano Americano S.A). 

3. He Dropped Out of School

Rich attended high school at the Rhodes Preparatory School in Manhattan.

He later attended New York University but dropped out after just one semester. 

He went to work for Philipp Brothers (now known as Phibro LLC) in 1954 where he worked with Pincus Green.

At Philipp Brothers, he eventually became a dealer in metals learning about the international raw materials markets. 

He also learned commercial trading with poor, third-world nations. He helped run the company’s operations in Cuba, Bolivia, and Spain. 

4. In 1974, together with his Co-Worker Set up their Own Company

In 1974, he and co-worker Pincus Green set up their own company in Switzerland, Marc Rich + Co. AG, which would later become Glencore Xstrata Plc.

Nicknamed “the King of Oil” by his business partners, Rich has been said to have expanded the spot market for crude oil in the early 1970s. 

In the process drawing business away from the larger established oil companies that had relied on traditional long-term contracts for future purchases.

5. His Assets were Frozen during the Indictment

Because of the indictment which was filed against him for violating U.S. trade sanctions against his deals with Iran his assets were frozen.

Rich was living in Switzerland when the US government gave out the judgment and froze his assets. 

His partner Davis was permitted by authorities to purchase Rich’s holding and subsequently sold this to Rupert Murdoch for $232 million in March 1984.

6. His Net Worth was around $2.5 Billion at the time of his Death

According to Business Insider reported Rich had an estimated net worth of US$2.5 billion at the time of his demise. 

He gave more than $100 million to Jewish causes and leukaemia research and Lost millions to Madoff.

He had traded oil for post-revolutionary Iran in the 1980s in defiance of US sanctions; the FBI had him on its most-wanted list.

His life in Switzerland became that of a fugitive. He broke rules, he broke laws.

But, looking at the rising prosperity of the resource-rich developing world, the growth of commodity markets.

And then the capacity of producers to profit from them, can we say that he was wrong? 

7.  He Married and Divorced Twice

Rich married Denise Eisenberg, a songwriter and heir to a New England shoe manufacturing fortune, in 1966.

The couple had three children, though one, Gabrielle Rich Aouad, died at age 27 of leukaemia in 1996.

Another daughter, Ilona Rich, is married to the art world enfant terrible Kenny Schachter, and lost her oldest son, Kai, to suicide in 2019.

Rich and Denise divorced in 1996, though she continued to use the name his sir name in her name Denise Rich.

Six months later, he married Gisela Rossi, although that marriage also ended in divorce, in 2005.

8. He Received Several Honorary Awards for his Contribution 

Rich was a strong supporter of Israel throughout his life, having donated around $150 million to different institutions. 

The likes of the Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum, research centres, and theatres, are some of the beneficiaries of his contributions. 

In May 2007, Rich received an honorary doctorate from Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. 

It was in recognition of his contribution to Israel and the university’s research programs.

He received the same honour from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel, on 18 November 2007.

The Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in suburban Tel Aviv, Israel, honoured Rich with the Sheba Humanitarian Award 2008.

Former recipients of this award include actor Michael Douglas, actress Elizabeth Taylor, and former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford.

9. He had Citizenship in 4 Different Countries

Although Rich believed that he had relinquished his United States citizenship when he became a citizen of Spain

However, an appeals court ruled in 1991 that, for purposes of U.S. law, Rich remained a citizen and therefore was still subject to U.S. income taxes.

He also held Belgian (his citizenship by birth), Bolivian, Israeli, and Spanish passports. 

He remained a citizen of all these countries until his demise and had the right to travel to any of them anytime. 

10. He Died in 2013 at the Age of 78 

After spending several years in Zug, Switzerland, Rich moved to Meggen, a city in the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. 

Rich died of a stroke on June 26, 2013, at a Lucerne hospital.

He was 78 and is survived by two daughters, Ilona Schachter-Rich and Danielle Kilstock-Rich.

He was buried in Israel, a country that was so close to his heart. 

Rich owned property in the ski resort of St. Moritz, Switzerland, and in Marbella, Spain.

He was an art collector, and friends said that he lived surrounded by Renoirs, Monets, and Picassos. 

Because of the indictment by the US government, he could not make it to his daughter’s funeral.