The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich

the American government’s pursuit was beginning to take its toll. For Rich, who loved traveling and traveled often, Switzerland was like a golden cage. In almost every other country in the world he was in danger of being picked up by American agents and brought back to the United States. He was isolated. A number of potential business partners wanted to have nothing to do with him—at least officially—as most did not want to play games with the American government. Commodities prices were dropping deeper and deeper across the board. After the end of apartheid, the sanctions against South Africa were gradually lifted, and the country no longer had to pay a premium to obtain Rich’s oil.
    His good friends say he was often insufferable back then. He drank a lot, surrounded himself with bad advisers, and made a few bad decisions that cost him a lot of money and, in the end, his company. On top of it all, his divorce from his first wife, Denise, became a bitter and expensive battle that was fought out in the limelight of the media. The scars ran deep. For years after the divorce, the two never spoke. Those who know the details say that it was not easy for Denise to campaign forher ex-husband’s pardon. St. Moritz, once the place of happy family vacations, was now the place where their marriage had begun to crumble. No wonder that she had little desire to return there.
Skiing in St. Moritz
     
    The ski resort of Corviglia on the mountain above St. Moritz is not only one of the largest but also one of the most attractive resorts in the Alps. Rich owns a three-story chalet on Suvretta Hill, which has the most exclusive and most expensive real estate in the area—a villa recently changed hands here for an estimated70 million. Rich’s chalet is equipped with an indoor pool where he goes to swim every morning. In the winter he spends almost every weekend here. He is an excellent skier who masters every run with elegance, even at seventy-four. He is sportive as ever, still likes to play tennis, and works out twice a week with a personal trainer.
    While the super-rich may enjoy being flown by helicopter up to the mountain’s summit, Rich stands in line with ordinary people at the chairlift. On the slopes, a vigilant observer would notice his two companions, one skiing in front of Rich, the other behind. The two bodyguards are carrying radios and heavy backpacks—you never know. Although he is still suffering from a cold, Rich is indefatigable as he makes his way down the slope. The moment he is in the chairlift he starts to work—on the phone to business partners all over the world, easily switching back and forth between English, Spanish, French, and German. When I ask him which language he is most comfortable with, he answers with a shake of his head and a sweep of his hand. He spoke German with his father and French with his mother. He often speaks Spanish with his daughters, who grew up in Spain, and in business he most often speaks English.
    These days Rich is heavily involved in the real estate business, and the subprime mortgage crisis is keeping him busy. He owns some land in Spain, the European country hit worst by the crisis, which is notof the best quality. He bought it a few years ago for30 million in the hope that its value would rise during the prevailing real estate boom. Now the value of the land is melting like snow in the spring sun. The banks are looking to get out. On the phone in the ski lift, Rich gives short and snappy instructions and asks a few questions. “How many percent do we have? Who’s got the lead? We’re not going to throw good money after bad. Good-bye.” After hanging up, he talks openly about the deal with his daughter Danielle and her husband, Richard. It does not seem to bother him at all that I am sitting next to him in the chair-lift and can hear everything.
    After a morning of skiing, he invites me to his chalet for lunch. Stepping out of the lift that takes you from the garage to the third floor of his house, you are immediately struck by the fairy-tale view of the snowy mountains and lakes of the Upper Engadine Valley. The furnishings in the house display impeccable good taste. It is a happy mix of modern furniture and modern art that provides a fitting contrast to the chalet’s traditional wooden interior. Two bright large sofas dominate the spacious room. On the table between the sofas there are bronze animal sculptures from Bolivia and a mountain of monographs