Trader and financier Mark Rich
A trader is not only a stock trader, futures or other securities, he is first and foremost a trader who, thanks to his ingenuity, intelligence and approach, makes a lot of money.
The most interesting thing is that all billionaire traders are embarrassed and keep silent about their dark past, but hide behind beautiful statistics and financial statements in order to explain how they earned billions.
However, behind every purchase and sales agreement there is bribery, collusion and pressure. In this article you will get acquainted with the biography of one of the most scandalous traders, Mark Rich, who adhered to a very simple principle of operation, namely, the cloudier the water, the bigger fish you can catch.
The Early Years of Marc Rich
Marc Rich was born in 1934 in Antwerp, Belgium. Despite the fact that Mark Rich himself pointed out that his family was very poor, according to the investigations of many journalists, these words were far from the truth.
It's worth noting that Rich is not a real last name, as it was originally Reich. At the time of the occupation of Belgium by the Germans, Mark Rich and his family fled to the United States, and the surname was changed so that the obvious German origin of the surname would not interfere with establishing connections and contacts.
Since childhood, Mark Rich had simply phenomenal abilities and had a very good memory.
However, no matter how amazing his inclinations as a scientist were, it was simply impossible to keep Mark at his school desk.
It is worth noting that even in his youth he was drawn to travel, and in general he was a typical hooligan boy who barely graduated from school with C grades.
In 1950, after graduating from high school, he and his family moved to New York because his father opened a jewelry store.
There he was forced to enter the local University, but after studying one course he was immediately expelled from there. Mark himself could not sit still, and thanks to his travels and probing the business environment, he was able to learn about five different languages, but still remained without a diploma.
Commodity Trader
In 1954, Mark Rich completely decided who he wanted to become and clearly understood that the blood of a real merchant flowed in his veins. At his first interview with the then famous trader Ludwig Jesselson, who was a representative of Philipp Brothers, he demonstrated how much mathematical ability he had.
So during the conversation, Ludwig asked to multiply six-digit numbers among themselves and calculate the root. After Mark succeeded in a matter of seconds, Ludwig immediately hired him, despite his lack of education.
In the company, Mark Rich’s growth happened before our eyes, and this was facilitated by Rich’s phenomenal ability.
His first victory, which demonstrated his abilities, was the mercury deal. At that time, the Korean War was going on and there was no strategic metal on the US market.
However, a very young man, after a simple trip, brought contracts worth millions of dollars and was able to make Philipp Brothers a monopolist in the US market.
After being promoted for his work, Marc Rich was sent to Cuba to create new ties with the regime of Fidel Castro, which was formed after the revolution. It is worth noting that all US companies avoided such contacts, but Rich was not afraid of anyone.
Through bribery, kickbacks and many illegal activities in the United States, Mark entered into multi-billion dollar contracts for nickel and copper.
The turning point in his career came in 1967, when he was sent to head the main division in Madrid, where he actually met his partner. After another successful transaction, Mark and his partner demanded their percentage of the profit, which was equal to two million dollars.
However, the company refused them this, so Rich slammed the doors and left the company, founding his own under the name Marc Rich AG. It is worth noting that the new company very quickly took away all the contracts at Philipp Brothers and entered the oil market.
The apogee and multi-billion-dollar income brought Rich contracts with Iran for oil, bypassing the sanctions imposed by the United States on this country. Rich was also present in the markets of the former USSR countries, and especially in Russia and Ukraine. Mark was tried in the States for the deal with Iran, but he fled to Spain.
Trader and financier Marc Rich died in 2013, leaving behind an estate of more than $2.5 billion. Many journalists call him the father of corruption, but he conducted business as those times required, nothing more.