The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich

authorities but did not wish to name the exact sum. “I’m respecting the confidentiality,” he explained. I asked him why he had paid anything at all, since he was of the opinion that he did not owe the State of New York any money whatsoever. “To get rid of it,” he replied. “It was the only way to get rid of it.”
“I’ll Never Go Back to the USA”
     
    In the aftermath of the affair, Rich was able to see which way the wind was blowing, and it was a very cold wind indeed. The pardon was like aboomerang. He had hoped to be able to liberate himself from many of the false accusations. He had hoped he would be given the freedom to return unmolested to the United States. He had hoped his name would finally disappear from the headlines. The reality was the exact opposite of what he had hoped for. The reports were even more scathing than they had been before the pardon. The media and the politicians rehashed all of the same facts, rumors, and defamations. Rich, who had been left in relative peace in the years running up to the pardon, was again described as the “fugitive billionaire,” the “most wanted white-collar criminal in U.S. history,” the “unscrupulous trader” who “traded with the enemy.” In addition to all of these accusations, Rich was now seen as the man who was even capable of manipulating the most powerful man in the world: the president of the United States.
    “I regret very much that Bill Clinton got in the line of fire for what he thought was the right thing to do,” Rich tells me in his office, “more so because I believe—independently of the pardon—that he was one of the best presidents the U.S. has had in recent history. Smart, able, eloquent and positive.” He thinks there was a targeted campaign. “The reactions were completely unjustified. Almost all of the negative reactions came from interested parties who felt that scandalizing Clinton’s decision would help their own, usually partisan agenda.” “Up to today the main allegation is that you essentially bought the pardon,” I say. “I didn’t,” he answers. “Did you give money to your ex-wife Denise in exchange for her help?” “No,” he says. “I would never give money to my ex-wife.”
    At first, Rich thought that the pardon “gave me back the freedom to travel wherever I want.” He had asked for a pardon, according to Avner Azulay, mainly “so he could visit his daughter’s grave, he could visit his father’s grave, he could visit his family in New York.” 27 After the public outcry in the wake of the pardon, though, Rich decided to forgo travel to the United States. “The American law system is peculiar in this respect. It is not possible to get confirmation that all legal proceedings are finished,” he says. “They might still have an unpaid parking ticket ofmine from thirty years ago and might make a big case out of it.” I ask him if he intends to return to the United States someday. “Never,” he says firmly. “They would look for some excuse to apprehend me. I don’t want to be exposed to that.”
    Marc Rich had hoped the pardon would allow him to regain his reputation. Now he had again lost control over his own name. Once and for all.

 

     

The
FUTURE ACCORDING
to
MARC RICH
     
    Oil, aluminum, mercury. You became the most powerful commodity trader because you had a knack for creating new markets and for seizing opportunities. Where would you go today? In what commodities would you invest?
All commodities will be good business. The world will produce more products for more people and will thus need more raw materials.
    Which will be, in your opinion, the most sought-after commodities in the twenty-first century?
Energy and water will probably become very important.
    How do you see the future of oil?
Oil will play an important role for a long time to come, but there is no denying that it is a finite commodity.
    Where do you see the oil price going?
Up and down, but up in the long term. Without any doubt.
    Do you see a business opportunity in renewable energies?
As much as I like oil, it’s obvious that oil has to be replaced in the future. Without doubt renewable energy will play an important role in this process. As it will become more expensive to get the remaining oil out of the ground, its price will inevitably go up. Higher oilprices will motivate innovation in the renewable energy sector, and higher prices will motivate people to switch.
    Where would you invest?
I