Marc Rich founded the commodities company Glencore, and was later indicted in the United States on federal charges of tax evasion, wire fraud, racketeering, and making oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis.
31 Facts About Marc Rich
2.
Marc Rich fled to Switzerland at the time of the indictment and never returned to the United States.
3.
Marc Rich received a widely criticized presidential pardon from President Bill Clinton, on his last day in office; Rich's ex-wife Denise had made large donations to the Democratic Party.
4.
Marc Rich's parents emigrated with their son to the United States in 1941 via Vichy France to escape the Nazis.
5.
Marc Rich attended high school at the Rhodes Preparatory School in Manhattan.
6.
Marc Rich later attended New York University, but dropped out after one semester to work for Philipp Brothers in 1954 where he worked with Pincus Green.
7.
Marc Rich helped run the company's operations in Cuba, Bolivia, and Spain.
8.
Later, following the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Marc Rich used his special relationship with Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, to buy oil from Iran despite the American embargo.
9.
Marc Rich sold Iranian oil to Israel through a secret pipeline.
10.
Marc Rich had ties to many mafia associates in the Soviet Union and, subsequently, the former Soviet Union, such as the Georgian-Israeli Grigori Loutchansky who owns the Austrian-based company Nordex and who was involved in the Iridium satellite constellation, and especially in the Russian Mafia, such as Marat Balagula, who was convicted of gasoline price fixing.
11.
Business Insider reported Marc Rich had an estimated net worth of US$2.5 billion.
12.
The charges would have led to a sentence of more than 300 years in prison had Marc Rich been convicted on all counts.
13.
Clinton's critics alleged that Marc Rich's pardon had been bought, as Denise Marc Rich had given more than $1 million to Clinton's political party, including more than $100,000 to the Senate campaign of the president's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and $450,000 to the Clinton Library foundation during Clinton's time in office.
14.
Marc Rich had made substantial donations to Israeli charitable foundations over the years, and many senior Israeli officials, such as Shimon Peres and Ehud Olmert, argued on his behalf behind the scenes.
15.
Speculation about another rationale for Marc Rich's pardon involved his alleged involvement with the Israeli intelligence community.
16.
Marc Rich reluctantly acknowledged in interviews with his biographer, Daniel Ammann, that he had assisted the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, a claim that Ammann said was confirmed by a former Israeli intelligence officer.
17.
Marc Rich stepped down before the investigation was finished and was replaced by James Comey, who was critical of Clinton's pardons and of then-Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder's pardon recommendation.
18.
Investment AG, which is the Swiss based commodities trading arm of the Marc Rich Holding company, to create a commodities trading house.
19.
Marc Rich was a strong supporter of Israel throughout his life, having donated around $150 million to institutions such as the Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum, research centers, theaters, as well as numerous other documented causes over the years.
20.
In 1985, Marc Rich helped with the compensation to the families of the Israeli victims of the Ras Burqa massacre in the Sinai.
21.
Marc Rich was an advocate for coexistence between Israelis and the Palestinians by establishing health and education programs in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as by fulfilling his commitment to making President's Conference contributions each year.
22.
Marc Rich has contributed to the Center for Sloan-Catherine, The Medical Research Center at Yale University, The Rabin Medical Center, and the center of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
23.
Marc Rich created the Marc Rich Foundation, one of the largest funds operating in Israel, which is managed by Avner Azulay, which has invested more than $135 million in the last two decades.
24.
Marc Rich helped with the construction of the Bioengineering building at Bar Ilan University.
25.
In May 2007, Marc Rich received an honorary doctorate from Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, in recognition of his contribution to Israel and to the university's research programs.
26.
Marc Rich received the same honor from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel, on 18 November 2007.
27.
Marc Rich married Denise Eisenberg, a songwriter and heir to a New England shoe manufacturing fortune, in 1966.
28.
Marc Rich owned property in the ski resort of St Moritz, Switzerland, and in Marbella, Spain.
29.
Marc Rich was an art collector, and friends said that he lived surrounded by Renoirs, Monets, and Picassos.
30.
Marc Rich died of a stroke on June 26,2013, at a Lucerne hospital.
31.
Marc Rich was 78 and is survived by two daughters, Ilona Schachter-Rich and Danielle Kilstock-Rich.