If a thriller writer were creating the character of a shadowy commodities trader, whose rise to global dominance and Croesan wealth occurred with barely an appearance in the public eye, then surely it would be modelled on Ivan Glasenberg.
For more than a decade the South African head of the commodities giant Glencore has been one of the great enigmas of the corporate world. From its headquarters in the discreet Swiss canton of Zug, known for its low taxes and numbers of wealthy foreigners, he has built up a multibillion dollar empire, the world’s largest trading house, that dominates the market of its many activities, from zinc to copper, lead and thermal coal.
Glencore’s origins under the leadership of Marc Rich, the controversial oil-trader, are seized on by its critics who harbour doubts about its secretive style. It began as Marc Rich + Co in 1974 before it changed its name in 1994 after Mr Rich, then a fugitive in Switzerland from tax evasion charges in the US, sold out to management.