MARC RICH
Marc Rich was born in Antwerp on December 18, 1934 as the only child of David
Rich and Paula Rich-Wang.
Facing the prospects of religious persecution his family began moving when he
was a small boy and settled for a while in Vichy, France, before immigrating to
the United States in 1941. The family first moved to New York City and lived
with a relative, then moved to Philadelphia, then to Kansas City and then
returned to the New York City area, living in various neighbourhoods. As a
result of the travels, Marc Rich attended a different school virtually every
year through primary and secondary schools.
Very affected by his father, a talented businessman with an uncompromising work
ethic and a knack for success in a variety of business ventures, Marc Rich spent
much of his childhood helping his father in several of his companies.
Marc Rich studied at Rhode's School in Manhattan and in the fall of 1952 entered
into a four-year marketing program at New York University.
In the spring of 1954, Marc Rich joined Philipp Brothers as a "lehrling" in the
mailroom. Philipp Brothers was a highly regarded, if not the best regarded,
physical trading company in the United States. Working his way up, Marc Rich was
transferred to the shipping department that was responsible for the control of
all of the Philipp Brothers' physical commodities movements.
Marc Rich soon began travelling to different Philipp Brothers offices around the
world, including Bolivia, the Netherlands, India, Spain and Switzerland. From
1964 to 1974, he managed the Phibro office in Madrid, Spain.
In October 1966, Marc Rich married Denise Eisenberg and their first child Ilona
was born in Madrid in August 1967. Still in Madrid, their second child Gabrielle
was born in January 1969.
Marc Rich's business acumen was quickly recognized, and he was groomed for the
role of president of Philipp Brothers. But in April 1974, determined to set out
on their own, Marc Rich and Pincus Green, another former mailroom worker who had
become a senior member of the Philipp Brothers group and a handful of other
traders of the company, started their own trading firm, Marc Rich + Co AG ("MRAG").
It was created and headquartered in Switzerland with additional offices
initially located in London and Madrid. By 1978 a Swiss subsidiary was operating
in New York, and the business was well on its way towards tremendous success.
Soon it was placed in the very top ranks of international trading companies
throughout the world.
After the formation of MRAG, Marc Rich initially lived in London where his third
daughter, Danielle, was born in March 1975.
By the early eighties, the Marc Rich Group of companies was one of the largest
and most successful trading houses in the world.
In 1983 Marc Rich moved to Switzerland, which became the centre of his life.
Also in 1983, Marc Rich and others were indicted in the U.S. on charges of tax
evasion, false statements, RICO and illegal trading with Iran, but he was
neither tried nor ever convicted.
Despite those legal difficulties with the United States, the Marc Rich Group of
companies developed into one of the world's major players in arranging for the
successful transfer of raw products from producer countries to developed nations.
In building this business, the Marc Rich Group made substantial contributions to
the world economy by increasing competition in the physical commodities
industries.
By 1993, when Marc Rich sold his interest in the commodity trading part of the
Marc Rich Group to the senior managers of the company, the trading entity ? re-named
Glencore ? was doing over 30 billion U.S. dollars worth of business a year and
operated in over 125 countries with 40 offices and 1'200 employees worldwide.
At the same time, Marc Rich began to build a new, smaller commodity trading
company that traded in oils and metals and had a staff of about 300 people,
mainly located in London and Switzerland. While this commodities business was
sold to the management in 2003, Marc Rich still oversees a financial trading
business as well as a real estate group which invests in the creation of new, or
the refurbishing of existing, commercial and residential sites in Switzerland,
Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Russia.
In September 1996, Marc Rich's second daughter, Gabrielle passed away, after
having suffered from Hodgkin's disease and then leukemia since the age of 23.
In January 2001, Marc Rich was pardoned by President Clinton of all charges of
that had been brought against him in the United States in 1983. President
Clinton has said that he granted Marc Rich's pardon strictly on its merits and
because he was convinced that Marc Rich was being prosecuted for acts that were
not crimes, or that were only pursued on a civil basis against others.
see Executive Summary of the U.S. Criminal Case Against Marc Rich
Over the years Marc Rich's activities increasingly have involved philanthropy.
These activities started over four decades ago. During the last two decades, the
Foundations have donated over $135'000'000 to various charitable causes. He has
created four foundations, including one for the purpose of finding a cure to
leukemia, established after his daughter Gabrielle died of the disease in 1996.
That foundation has made significant contributions to medical institutions
around the world, including the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Yale
University School of Medicine, the Rabin Medical Center and the Dana Farber
Cancer Institute.
The vast majority of Marc Rich's philanthropic activities have been through his
foundations making donations to charities throughout the world. Marc Rich
currently is in the process of reducing the business and increasing his
charitable activities. He has always taken an active role in deciding where the
foundations ? The Swiss Foundation for the Doron Prize, The Marc Rich Foundation
for Education, Culture and Welfare, and The Gabrielle Rich Leukemia Research
Foundation ? direct their contributions to. In May 2007, Marc Rich received the
honory doctoral degree of the Bar Ilan University. Video statement of Marc Rich.
Marc Rich also excelled ? and still does ? as a keen tennis player, skier,
alpinist and patron of the arts.
Marc Rich was born in Antwerp on December 18, 1934 as the only child of David
Rich and Paula Rich-Wang.
Facing the prospects of religious persecution his family began moving when he
was a small boy and settled for a while in Vichy, France, before immigrating to
the United States in 1941. The family first moved to New York City and lived
with a relative, then moved to Philadelphia, then to Kansas City and then
returned to the New York City area, living in various neighbourhoods. As a
result of the travels, Marc Rich attended a different school virtually every
year through primary and secondary schools.
Very affected by his father, a talented businessman with an uncompromising work
ethic and a knack for success in a variety of business ventures, Marc Rich spent
much of his childhood helping his father in several of his companies.
Marc Rich studied at Rhode's School in Manhattan and in the fall of 1952 entered
into a four-year marketing program at New York University.
In the spring of 1954, Marc Rich joined Philipp Brothers as a "lehrling" in the
mailroom. Philipp Brothers was a highly regarded, if not the best regarded,
physical trading company in the United States. Working his way up, Marc Rich was
transferred to the shipping department that was responsible for the control of
all of the Philipp Brothers' physical commodities movements.
Marc Rich soon began travelling to different Philipp Brothers offices around the
world, including Bolivia, the Netherlands, India, Spain and Switzerland. From
1964 to 1974, he managed the Phibro office in Madrid, Spain.
In October 1966, Marc Rich married Denise Eisenberg and their first child Ilona
was born in Madrid in August 1967. Still in Madrid, their second child Gabrielle
was born in January 1969.
Marc Rich's business acumen was quickly recognized, and he was groomed for the
role of president of Philipp Brothers. But in April 1974, determined to set out
on their own, Marc Rich and Pincus Green, another former mailroom worker who had
become a senior member of the Philipp Brothers group and a handful of other
traders of the company, started their own trading firm, Marc Rich + Co AG ("MRAG").
It was created and headquartered in Switzerland with additional offices
initially located in London and Madrid. By 1978 a Swiss subsidiary was operating
in New York, and the business was well on its way towards tremendous success.
Soon it was placed in the very top ranks of international trading companies
throughout the world.
After the formation of MRAG, Marc Rich initially lived in London where his third
daughter, Danielle, was born in March 1975.
By the early eighties, the Marc Rich Group of companies was one of the largest
and most successful trading houses in the world.
In 1983 Marc Rich moved to Switzerland, which became the centre of his life.
Also in 1983, Marc Rich and others were indicted in the U.S. on charges of tax
evasion, false statements, RICO and illegal trading with Iran, but he was
neither tried nor ever convicted.
Despite those legal difficulties with the United States, the Marc Rich Group of
companies developed into one of the world's major players in arranging for the
successful transfer of raw products from producer countries to developed nations.
In building this business, the Marc Rich Group made substantial contributions to
the world economy by increasing competition in the physical commodities
industries.
By 1993, when Marc Rich sold his interest in the commodity trading part of the
Marc Rich Group to the senior managers of the company, the trading entity ? re-named
Glencore ? was doing over 30 billion U.S. dollars worth of business a year and
operated in over 125 countries with 40 offices and 1'200 employees worldwide.
At the same time, Marc Rich began to build a new, smaller commodity trading
company that traded in oils and metals and had a staff of about 300 people,
mainly located in London and Switzerland. While this commodities business was
sold to the management in 2003, Marc Rich still oversees a financial trading
business as well as a real estate group which invests in the creation of new, or
the refurbishing of existing, commercial and residential sites in Switzerland,
Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Russia.
In September 1996, Marc Rich's second daughter, Gabrielle passed away, after
having suffered from Hodgkin's disease and then leukemia since the age of 23.
In January 2001, Marc Rich was pardoned by President Clinton of all charges of
that had been brought against him in the United States in 1983. President
Clinton has said that he granted Marc Rich's pardon strictly on its merits and
because he was convinced that Marc Rich was being prosecuted for acts that were
not crimes, or that were only pursued on a civil basis against others.
see Executive Summary of the U.S. Criminal Case Against Marc Rich
Over the years Marc Rich's activities increasingly have involved philanthropy.
These activities started over four decades ago. During the last two decades, the
Foundations have donated over $135'000'000 to various charitable causes. He has
created four foundations, including one for the purpose of finding a cure to
leukemia, established after his daughter Gabrielle died of the disease in 1996.
That foundation has made significant contributions to medical institutions
around the world, including the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Yale
University School of Medicine, the Rabin Medical Center and the Dana Farber
Cancer Institute.
The vast majority of Marc Rich's philanthropic activities have been through his
foundations making donations to charities throughout the world. Marc Rich
currently is in the process of reducing the business and increasing his
charitable activities. He has always taken an active role in deciding where the
foundations ? The Swiss Foundation for the Doron Prize, The Marc Rich Foundation
for Education, Culture and Welfare, and The Gabrielle Rich Leukemia Research
Foundation ? direct their contributions to. In May 2007, Marc Rich received the
honory doctoral degree of the Bar Ilan University. Video statement of Marc Rich.
Marc Rich also excelled ? and still does ? as a keen tennis player, skier,
alpinist and patron of the arts.