Since the company's public listing in 2011, and the leaks of the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers and Hilary Clinton's emails, more information about the company's behaviour has come to light. Glencore, originally named Marc Rich + Co, was founded in 1974 by Marc Rich, a Belgian-American commodities trader.
Marc Rich - pardoned by Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001, Clinton's last day in office.
25 April, 2018After surviving a near-death experience in 2015, Glencore stocks are riding high on world markets: the company has just posted its best ever results. One reason is its dominance of supplies of cobalt, an essential mineral used in batteries for smart phones and electric cars. Cobalt prices are soaring, and Glencore controls supply through massive operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Glencore, originally named Marc Rich + Co, was founded in 1974 by Marc Rich, a Belgian-American commodities trader. Before Rich, oil production and trading was dominated by big, established companies like BP and Exxon, who made long term deals with stable governments. Rich flew into conflict zones with borrowed money, making deals with officials to buy oil directly. Rich brought two great innovations to the world of commodities trading: defying international law, and using leverage – trading with borrowed money and reselling at a profit – to corner lucrative markets.
The company’s fortune was built on tax avoidance and sanctions busting: Rich defied international trade embargoes to do business with pariah regimes from across the political spectrum, including Iran during the hostage crisis, Libya under Ghaddafi, Chile under Pinochet, and apartheid South Africa. Rich also did deals with North Korea’s Kim Il Sung, Yugoslavia’s Slobodan Milosevic and the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos, and through convicted money launderer Gilbert Chagoury, with Sani Abacha in Nigeria.
The company also has significant labor problems - human trafficking connection?
http://www.industriall-union.org/special-report-glencore-the-commodities-giant-with-no-soul
Marc Rich — smuggling oil from Libya when sanctions had been applied. He gave “kickbacks” to Clintons during that time.