The King of Oil

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, charting Rich's rise from the Holocaust, which he fled as a young boy, to become the wealthiest and most powerful oil and commodities trader of the century. From his earliest trading days to the present, Marc Rich's story is astonishing and compelling. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

Working in the energy industry, this was a book I am shocked didn’t get recommended earlier than it did. I’ve been recommending it to everyone, regardless of interest in energy, as a fascinating insight into the development of business and commodity trading.  Marc Rich is genuinely a fascinating character and someone that was infamous in the USA for a variety of reasons.

Ammann writes extremely well about the conflicts Rich faced when it comes to ethical challenges and seems to have portrayed things in a fairly unbiased manner.  I appreciated that Ammann took the time to explain the perspectives on thinking behind Rich when it would have been very easy to portray him as a villain.  I’m still not convinced what he did was right all the time, but nonetheless a good discussion of right / wrong.  Props for maintaining neutrality by the author and writing an extremely compelling book.  People may not like Rich or agree with his thinking, but nonetheless great writing.  I  would highly recommend it!

Rating: 5 stars!

Who should read it? Anyone with interest in understanding the dynamics behind the business world and / or energy industry.