Customer Reviews

Metal Men: Marc Rich and the 10-Billion-Dollar Scam

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
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This is without a doubt one of the finest books I have read from start to finish. Although the author did work in the business for a time being to research his subject, the world is bigger than any one person. Yet, the author came closer and reported more than ever before.

It begins about the origins of metal trading and goes directly to writing about the people who learned it, changed it and became successful than any other's dreams in the persona of, Marc Rich And Pincus Green. It will explain how commodities works, trading in them is accomplished and the ability to go from Mail Rooms to Board Rooms because of hard work, smarts and guile to do it.

The book explains how oil was once controlled by the "Seven Sisters Oil Companies (Exxon, Mobil, BP, Shell, Gulf, Chevron and Texaco), who have since merged among themselves. Everything about the product from ground to shipping to refining to market was dominated by them until Marc Rich and Pinky Green. This is just a portion of what the book is about with facts too real for fiction. Mr. Rich and Green built over a 30 billion dollar business in over 125 countries and is the true multi-national that the world have come to know today.

What few will ever know is all of the quiet services performed by these men both in helping others, creating opportunity and in some cases keeping the world safe for democracy and national security. At the same time, powerful business men who once dominated this area do not take kindly to those who changed it to their benefit and others losses.

As you read the book it is so easy to condemn Marc Rich and Pinky Green yet you cannot help to admire how they felt that they and only they would control their destiny. It is far harder to praise them when much of their work, donations and efforts were kept silent out of need, respect and charity. In any event, this book will open the eyes to those who read it carefully. It could be made into a movie far better than "Barbarians At The Gates" ever was in reality. I highly recommend this book if you can get your hands on it!

A. Craig Copetas' book gives us a rare insight in the well curtained offices of big metal traders. His story centres on Marc Rich and his companion Pincus Green, who left in disgust their employer Philipp Brothers, at that moment a unit of Engelhard MC, because of the 'meagre' bonuses they received at the end of the year. These bonuses were in fact only a fraction of the revenues the two traders generated for the company.
The new company they created attacked immediately and head-on the core businesses of their former employer.
Craig Copetas shows us how Marc Rich's commodity trading business was based on 'deep' contacts (Henry Kissinger), market cornering, tax evasion, and profiting most of all by circumventing a US oil embargo against Iran.
Attacked in court for unlawful trading and tax evasion Marc Rich's companies pleaded guilty to 38 counts to the tune of ninety million dollars, still a small portion of the amassed fortune. Fines of $50,000 a day were disbursed without the slightest difficulty.
When he was finally condemned, Marc Rich had already settled down in Zug (Switzerland) with a Spanish identity card.
He was ultimately pardoned (he risked a potential jail term of over three hundred years!) by President Bill Clinton (for generously supporting the Democratic Party?).
This book is a keen look behind the curtain of a highly speculative and risky business, where the best informed traders corner the least informed ones. Options should limit the risks.
For interested readers and traders alike.

The commodity trading profession has very few books written about it. This is one of the better books but you must decipher what the truth is and what is fictitious. Copetas speculates alot about the life of Marc Rich and takes alot of pot shots at his career. Truth is Copetas is an outsider and outsiders can not accurately report about covert and clandestine physical commodity trades. I should know....I worked for the best metal man in the world.

The brevity of Copetas' book allows it to be mercifully readable. On the other hand, Metal Men is so condensed that federal prosecution of Marc Rich (who managed to become a Spaniard in order to avoid extradition) and Pincus Green (who became a Bolivian for the same reason) is difficult to follow. The best sections of the book are the juicy nuggets that leave the reader whetted for more information. This is especially true when Marc Rich's relationship with Henry Kissinger and Kissinger Associates is discussed. Marc refers to the good doctor as "K", perhaps an allusion to Franz Kafka's narrator in the book Schloss. How appropriate. Clearly there was, and perhaps still is, much mutual benefit in the relationship between two master players who operate at the same level in their respective games. Copetas would not be faulted if he enlarged on this particular topic. One might wish for more background on the peculiar relationship the wholesome country of Switzerland has had with mobsters, white collar crime of a certain calibre, and kleptocratic despots over the past decades, if not centuries. The enchanting Canton of Zug emerges as an especially infested banana republic within a national governmental system that sees all money as created equal, and equally welcome into its banking system, regardless of provenance. This is a far cry from the Switzerland of alpine cheeses, pure air, teutonic ski bums, and clinics for the super rich. More the Gnome Switzerland of secrets and Croesus grade wealth and grey teflon coated bureaucrats. Then there hints at generally unreported connections, such as a strong, if not well known, presence Swedes in Thailand. Swedes in Thailand ? We would like to know more. Perhaps additional insight into the underworld of international arms trade, which figured in some of Rich's dealings, as with the Ayotallah Khomeni. Somewhere in here we expect to find the thread of Iran-Contra, but that subject, too, is left to mere suggestion. Considering what Mr. Copetas appears to know, but has edited out for the sake of brevity or marketability, there is a much larger and more enlightening book waiting to be composed from his files. One doubts that such a work would be welcomed with open arms by much of the political establishment, but by golly it would make eye opening tome.

Upon reading Metal Men I conclude that A. Craig Copetas is an amazing writer. Once I began reading the book , I couldn't put it down. This guy interviewed close associates of Marc Rich making the book very believable.I can't believe some of the people he interviewed ,actually talked about their experiences. He even went into the business to get a first hand account of metal trading, learning the business inside and out. I also enjoyed his style of writing , the words seem to flow like money through offshore accounts. The only bad thing about this book , is that it left me wanting more. Buy this book , you will be pleased. Definitley a 5 STAR!

The book was absolutely intrigueing and compelling just to learn about the inside workings of the metals and oil business. Needless to say, I worked at this company for a short period of time... I did not see any of the implied pimping of secretaries or traders prostituting themselves for a deal. The author has gathered much information on the sequence of events, but found that he was presenting this story, not as a reporter, but a snotty bitter little man. Marc, did not have shifty eyes, and to say at 6ft, his presence was that of a tall and looming personality, makes me believe that this author is of short stature. There are many good and charitable things this man and his company have catered to, but not once did i see anything listed in this book. The people I worked for and with at this company, were a group of the nicest and most professional people I have worked for. I have since to find a company that performed in such a refined and distinguished manner. They werent the whores Copetas has implied them to be. My being a secretary there, I took quite offense to the pimping of the staff for info. This is business, but just someone working by a different set of rules. Broke some, now cant come to the country whose rules he broke. Unless, the Pardon sticks. And wouldnt that be something to really irk this author a little more than he already seems to be. His being a "journalist", I was surprised by his unprofessionalism in giving the facts. All the facts, and not his opinions.

I read this book about a year or two after it was released having only heard of it after the much discussed Clinton pardon. It was a fascinating story about the inner workings of Marc Rich. Given the vast number of "expose'" now available the story is not as, let's say, shocking as many are slightly numb to "shock" to corporate greed and crime. As far as Rich's presidential (criminal) pardon, it's hard not to compare it to today's executives whose choices apparently required an emergency need for TARP and/or bailout monies but then after quickly recovering these execs chose to line their pockets or redecorate their office with gold, approve obscene bonuses to retain their employee talent (?) and continue the extraordinary and seemingly boundless company paid perquisites. Marc Rich seemed small compared to the Enron execs and their ilk - most of whom seemed to receive some protection from the Bush White House.

In any event, the Metal Man is a fast read and the book was re-issued after the Clinton scandal to a much wider audience. It's worth the quick read if only to understand how this guy maneuvered around. At least Rich was investigated, prosecuted criminally, and crawled away even if it was to avoid punishment. As I previously mentioned, today's more modern (criminal) execs takes their huge amounts of money as "lawful" compensation then blames the damage done to society on what probably was/is their exercise of business judgment and business practices seen in light of the bad economy they created and fueled in the first place.

Well written, brief but fast paced story of the exploits of marc rich leaves you wanting more.

Mark Rich has to one of the worlds best businessmen. From this book the reader finds out that he traded everything.
"but he trades like all metal traders in what ever products come out of the earth." He was once the most wanted white collar criminal in American.

The fact that Mark Rich received a presidential pardon from U.S. President Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001, Clinton's last day in office. shows that Mr Rich was "untouchable".

Mineral Resources Incorporated was a "boiler room" metal trading operation.

Rich and his associate Pincus Green "choreograph their delusions to enrich his Empire"

Rich said he practiced the Law of diminishing utility. 'Too much of anything will end up killing you dead."


Allegedly they floated a rumor the president Reagan was dead stroke or something and this made the silver market jump.

Rich was not unlike Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. who was said to have been the inspiration for the fictional character Auric Goldfinger in the Ian Fleming novel/movie Goldfinger.

Mr. Copetas has written a highly readable and informative book. No doubt much of the information is true; however, the author appears to rely heavily on government documents for the prosecution of Mr. Rich when it come to writing about Marc Rich himself. Without Mr. Rich's input much of the book is open to speculation. The U.S. "justice" system is notorious for magically changing allegations into facts and hearsay and second-hand information into evidence.

I also noticed the copyright dates and found it interesting that the same political party was in office both times and that members of both of these administrations, privately, have a vested interest in the oil business. Which prompts me to ask: Is Marc Rich a corporate criminal, did he defraud the country and evade the law, or is it a case of sour grapes with a private vendetta being carried out in a public forum? I question, too, the fact that Mr. Rich was indicted while Oliver North ran for public office after committing virtually the same "crime".

It's mentioned that greed was a huge motivator and this I don't agree with. Profit is simply the by-product. Currently, I'm paper trading and honing my skills. Last December I placed a June DJIA put option costing me 2,100; in March, when the Dow fell I liquidated my option for 263,000. The excitement that's felt while everyone else is wringing their hands is incredible and the money was plowed right back into trading. Money is a marker, and trading is a test of skill and competition against yourself more than anything.

Mr. Rich, in his business dealings, reminds me of J.P. Morgan when he started out; and I would willingly relocate to Switzerland and become a lehrling, so persuasive is Mr. Copetas' writings.