The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich
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- Create Date：2021-04-13 11:56:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Daniel Ammann
- ISBN：031265068X
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Summary
Billionaire oil trader Marc Rich for the first time talks at length about his private life （including his expensive divorce from wife Denise）; his invention of the spot oil market， which made his fortune and changed the world economy; his lucrative and unpublicized dealings with Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran， Fidel Castro's Cuba， war-ravaged Angola， and apartheid South Africa; his quiet cooperation with the Israeli and U。S。 governments （even after he was indicted for tax fraud by Rudy Guiliani） and near-comical attempts by U。S。 officials to kidnap him illegally。
This sure-to-make-headlines book is the first no-holds-barred biography of Rich， who was famously pardoned by Bill Clinton， and resurfaced in the news during the confirmation hearings of Attorney General Eric Holder。 The King of Oil sheds stunning new light on one of the most controversial international businessmen of all time。
This sure-to-make-headlines book is the first no-holds-barred biography of Rich， who was famously pardoned by Bill Clinton， and resurfaced in the news during the confirmation hearings of Attorney General Eric Holder。 The King of Oil sheds stunning new light on one of the most controversial international businessmen of all time。
Reviews
Zhong Jinhao
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A must read for any commodities trader
Eryn-Ashlei
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The complex Marc Rich tale is fascinating。 This book provided a new perspective and attempted to balance the politically inflammatory and biased accounts of Marc Rich。 The question of morality， business ethics， shareholder primacy， and a myriad of other business questions are posed as one reads this book。 As was stated several times， life is seldom what it seems。 Things are often grey， when the media would rather paint things as black or white。 I appreciate the author’s ability to humanize Rich， The complex Marc Rich tale is fascinating。 This book provided a new perspective and attempted to balance the politically inflammatory and biased accounts of Marc Rich。 The question of morality， business ethics， shareholder primacy， and a myriad of other business questions are posed as one reads this book。 As was stated several times， life is seldom what it seems。 Things are often grey， when the media would rather paint things as black or white。 I appreciate the author’s ability to humanize Rich， despite his reputation as the “biggest devil”。 Everyone should be presumed innocent until proven guilty and everyone has a right to a fair trial。 I’m fascinated by what Rich’s businesses were able to accomplish with respect to foreign governments。 Again， was Rich truly the villain that he was painted out to be， or was he a man that could get things done that other “legitimate” entities could not， while managing to profit nicely in the end？ It will surely take more investigating to figure out， and since none of us are God anyway， is it really our call in the first place？ 。。。more
Jordan Katz
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An unbelievable story about someone who was so influential， yet not known。 This book was very hard to put down。 It was a real page turner！
yitr
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3/5Well researched， a lot of effort went into documenting Rich's personal habits and relationships。 Author spends too much time reiterating the subject's refugee background and interjecting vague musings about philosophy and morality， not enough detail on the trade technicalities （competitors？ what kind of oil？ what did the supply chain actually look like？） The book is structured in that pseudo-discursive longform style， but made dissonant by tacky transitions like: "August of 1983 was one of th 3/5Well researched， a lot of effort went into documenting Rich's personal habits and relationships。 Author spends too much time reiterating the subject's refugee background and interjecting vague musings about philosophy and morality， not enough detail on the trade technicalities （competitors？ what kind of oil？ what did the supply chain actually look like？） The book is structured in that pseudo-discursive longform style， but made dissonant by tacky transitions like: "August of 1983 was one of the hottest that Switzerland had ever seen。 It seemed even hotter in Rich's headquarters in Zug。" 。。。more
Rachel
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Makes you question the grey of morality within capitalism。
Connor Swenson
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The Book in 3 Sentences1。 The King of Oil is a biography of Marc Rich， a businessman known as one of the greatest commodities traders of the 20th century， and who became vilified by the US Government and the press for tax issues surrounding his business empire。2。 Marc is a self-made billionaire born in pre-WWII Belgium to a Jewish family who escaped just before the Nazis invaded。 He started his career at Philip Brothers， then known as the leading commodities trading house in the world。 3。 He inv The Book in 3 Sentences1。 The King of Oil is a biography of Marc Rich， a businessman known as one of the greatest commodities traders of the 20th century， and who became vilified by the US Government and the press for tax issues surrounding his business empire。2。 Marc is a self-made billionaire born in pre-WWII Belgium to a Jewish family who escaped just before the Nazis invaded。 He started his career at Philip Brothers， then known as the leading commodities trading house in the world。 3。 He invented the spot market for oil， did business with Iran， South Africa， Cuba， Angola， Bolivia， Nigeria， and many countries that were seen as corrupt and undemocratic。 Who Should Read It？It's a great read if you are interested in stories of self-made businessmen， especially those from a refugee background。 His story is a fascinating career of the 20th century interwoven with major historical events （Fidel in Cuba， Decolonization of Africa， Yom Kippur War， Khomeini in Iran， Apartheid in South Africa）。 。。。more
Mark Bunch
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A good read。 the story of the man who made the market for spot oil in the early 1970's。 He brokered the international power。 This dealmaker dealt with all the hands。 I enjoyed this book。 I also enjoyed metal men -book from the 1980's。 This book is worth the read if you are interested in oil， international politics or the dealmaker/scoundrel。 A good read。 the story of the man who made the market for spot oil in the early 1970's。 He brokered the international power。 This dealmaker dealt with all the hands。 I enjoyed this book。 I also enjoyed metal men -book from the 1980's。 This book is worth the read if you are interested in oil， international politics or the dealmaker/scoundrel。 。。。more
Philipp
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best biography I have read so far
Wochner Mike
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Excellent book on commodity trading and the history of Glencore。
Ian 。
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Very interesting book about trading， global markets， capitalism， politics。 Truely controversial guy with controversial history。
Diran Oni
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Inspirational
Elena
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The worst thing about this book is that it is utterly biased。 It is clear that the author admires Marc Rich and his attempts to keep the biography neutral and show both sides of the story are only half-hearted。Other than that， it was interesting to read about how the trade of commodities such as oil especially is deeply intertwined with world politics and recent history。
Chris Tailor
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Really good book to get the spirit of a commodity trader。
Mudiaga
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It's a spellbinding book about one of the richest men in commodity trading Marc rich。 His trades and how he became one of the richest men in the world It's a spellbinding book about one of the richest men in commodity trading Marc rich。 His trades and how he became one of the richest men in the world 。。。more
IMABONG
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very interesting historical perspective on the global oil market， politics of oil and the US Justice system
Allan
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Well written， researched， and interviewed of the reticent Marc Rich。 I quite enjoyed not only the story about this fascinating character but also the historical background given by Daniel Ammann to provide a better understanding of the times and placing Marc Rich's story into context。 I also liked that the author gives you the facts but not his opinion and let's the reader decide whether Mr。 Rich is good or bad or both。 Well written， researched， and interviewed of the reticent Marc Rich。 I quite enjoyed not only the story about this fascinating character but also the historical background given by Daniel Ammann to provide a better understanding of the times and placing Marc Rich's story into context。 I also liked that the author gives you the facts but not his opinion and let's the reader decide whether Mr。 Rich is good or bad or both。 。。。more
Natalie
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Как же не хотелось что бы книга заканчивалась。。。。Взахлёб читать темную сторону сырьевой торговли， историю 20-го века глазами реального человека и жизнь личности мирового масштаба。 Не обошлось даже без легкого психоанализа и поисков глубинных мотивов Марка и компании （“Marc & co”）:）
Navdeep Pundhir
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This is a wonderful book， most readable， very well written and ofcourse， thoroughly researched。 A job well done。
Luc
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Fascinating biography。 Like we say in Haiti， Marc Rich was an onion: he was in every sauce！ Cuba， Middle East， Africa， LATAM， Europe。。。。 Highly recommended， but at times it feel like the author might be leaning too much on Marc Rich’s side。 I need to follow up and read more from his detractors to hear their version。
Vivian Ong
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Decided to give this book a read since i'm currently working in Glencore。 This book provides insights to the invention of commodity markets as Marc Rich discovered the spot market for oil （also known as black gold） for its lucrativeness。 The story of Marc Rich is that of controversy， success， exile and somewhat motivational。 Rich was able to find opportunity when people could only see despair， which some would consider his fatal flaw。 He built relationships with Iran， South Africa， Cuba and Ango Decided to give this book a read since i'm currently working in Glencore。 This book provides insights to the invention of commodity markets as Marc Rich discovered the spot market for oil （also known as black gold） for its lucrativeness。 The story of Marc Rich is that of controversy， success， exile and somewhat motivational。 Rich was able to find opportunity when people could only see despair， which some would consider his fatal flaw。 He built relationships with Iran， South Africa， Cuba and Angola during periods of immense political and social uncertainty。 This book also provided some context on notable historical events。 Rich's ability to predict future demand and his focus on long term benefits enabled him to grow his empire that today exists as Glencore。 Although i still feel somewhat unfair for him when he was forced to give up on Marc Rich & co。 by his traders。 。。。more
MJ
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I’d give this book a 4。5。 I thoroughly enjoyed reading the coming out of hardship to riches story。 Aside from it being a biography， The King of Oil provided mini history lessons and gave a glimpse of the different types of political systems that existed （or still exists depending on the example we’re using） and how they operated。 From Iran to Nigeria to Cuba - reading about personal experiences with these countries sure is exciting。On the other hand， what I didn’t like about the book is the auth I’d give this book a 4。5。 I thoroughly enjoyed reading the coming out of hardship to riches story。 Aside from it being a biography， The King of Oil provided mini history lessons and gave a glimpse of the different types of political systems that existed （or still exists depending on the example we’re using） and how they operated。 From Iran to Nigeria to Cuba - reading about personal experiences with these countries sure is exciting。On the other hand， what I didn’t like about the book is the author’s continued insistence of its impartiality。 One thing to get out of this book is - human greed sure comes in all shapes and forms。 。。。more
Ira Khamayko
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Great book for those who interested in the world of commodities trade。
Yana Abramova
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One of my favorite books
Henry
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"Ethics"。 He laughed。 Then he pointed at my Diet Coke。 "Your Coke can is made of aluminium。 The bauxite that is needed to make it probably comes from Guinea-Conakry。 A terrible dictatorship， believe me，" he said。 "The oil that is used to heat this room probably comes from Saudi Arabia。 These good friends of the USA hack the hands off thieves just like in the Middle Ages。 Your cell phone？ Without coltan there wouldn't be any cell phones。 Let's not pretend。 Coltan was used to finance the civil war "Ethics"。 He laughed。 Then he pointed at my Diet Coke。 "Your Coke can is made of aluminium。 The bauxite that is needed to make it probably comes from Guinea-Conakry。 A terrible dictatorship， believe me，" he said。 "The oil that is used to heat this room probably comes from Saudi Arabia。 These good friends of the USA hack the hands off thieves just like in the Middle Ages。 Your cell phone？ Without coltan there wouldn't be any cell phones。 Let's not pretend。 Coltan was used to finance the civil war in Congo"。 He paused for his words to take effect。 "Now， you tell me，" he said and pointed his finger at me。 "What's the alternative？ No trade？ Without raw materials the economy would collapse。 The world would stand still。 Do the people who criticize our work want to know any of this？ Or would they rather just pick on us so that they can feel better about themselves？" 。。。more
Emma Hayne
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The King of Oil - Daniel Ammann Ever wondered how commodity markets came to exist？ Thanks to Marc Rich， the spot market for black gold （oil） was created and became one of the most lucrative ideas of the twentieth century。 The story of Marc Rich is that of controversy， success， exile and somewhat motivational。 Rich was able to find opportunity when people could only see despair， which some would consider his fatal flaw。 He built relationships with Iran， South Africa， Cuba and Angola during period The King of Oil - Daniel Ammann Ever wondered how commodity markets came to exist？ Thanks to Marc Rich， the spot market for black gold （oil） was created and became one of the most lucrative ideas of the twentieth century。 The story of Marc Rich is that of controversy， success， exile and somewhat motivational。 Rich was able to find opportunity when people could only see despair， which some would consider his fatal flaw。 He built relationships with Iran， South Africa， Cuba and Angola during periods of immense political and social uncertainty。 It was his ability to focus on long term benefits that enabled him to grow his empire that today exists as Glencore。 The Marc Rich story will amaze you， question your moral compass （and that of Rich）， appreciate the benefits of his work and understand the complex web of relationships that exist globally。 The story of Rich portrays both sides of the fence with Ammann’s research spanning far and wide and names such as Clinton， Giuliani and Holder are frequented throughout。 It is definitely worth a read to understand the intricacies of global trading and the measures people will go to in order to meet supply and demand。 。。。more
Ahmed Siala
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Very interesting and enjoyable
Ackim Chalwe
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Excellent ReadFlows fast。 Good citations so appears accurate。 Inspires， really embodies the self fulfilment ideal Maslow wrote about。 A really good read。
Ernestasia Siahaan
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4。5/5I didn’t know who Marc Rich was when I grabbed this book for myself。 I just thought there may be interesting things to learn from a so-called “King of Oil”。 The book left a strong impression on me。 While narrating Marc Rich’s success and downfall， it gave a glimpse of world politics， the question of morality， hypocrisy in business and government institutions， sensationalist journalism and manipulation of public opinion。The writing was to the point and engaging， so much so I finished the boo 4。5/5I didn’t know who Marc Rich was when I grabbed this book for myself。 I just thought there may be interesting things to learn from a so-called “King of Oil”。 The book left a strong impression on me。 While narrating Marc Rich’s success and downfall， it gave a glimpse of world politics， the question of morality， hypocrisy in business and government institutions， sensationalist journalism and manipulation of public opinion。The writing was to the point and engaging， so much so I finished the book in practically a day。 。。。more
Castro Thabana
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One of the best life story of this oil and trade baron。 Like him or not， Marc Rich was a pioneer of his time thus disrupted the way business was conducted and upset mighty and powerful。
Warner
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