A drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian Revolution led to an energy crisis in 1979. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets' reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically over the next 12 months, more than doubling it to $39.50 per barrel ($248/m3). The sudden increase in price was connected with fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations similar to the 1973 oil crisis.
Marc Rich was an international commodities trader, financier, and businessman. He founded the commodities company Glencore, and was later indicted in the United States on federal charges of tax evasion, wire fraud, racketeering, and making oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. He fled to Switzerland at the time of the indictment and never returned to the United States. He received a widely criticized presidential pardon from President Bill Clinton, on his last day in office; Rich's ex-wife Denise had made large donations to the Democratic Party.
Adnan Khashoggi was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his lavish business deals and lifestyle. He was estimated to have had a peak net worth of around US$4 billion in the early 1980s.
The Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company operates several crude petroleum and refined petroleum products pipelines in Israel, most notably the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline – which transports crude oil across southern Israel, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The EAPC also operates two maritime oil terminals as well as oil storage depots in the country.
The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC Reference Basket, Tapis crude, Bonny Light, Urals oil, Isthmus, and Western Canadian Select (WCS). Oil prices are determined by global supply and demand, rather than any country's domestic production level.
Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. is a multinational commodities company domiciled in Singapore with major regional hubs in Geneva, Houston, Montevideo and Mumbai, founded in 1993. The company trades in base metals and energy. It is the world's largest private metals trader and second-largest oil trader having built or purchased stakes in pipelines, mines, smelters, ports and storage terminals.
Pincus Green is an American oil and gas commodities trader. In 1983 Green and his business partner Marc Rich were indicted on charges of tax evasion relating to illegal trading with Iran, including deals that were done while the Ayatollahs were holding Americans hostage in Tehran. At the time, it was the largest tax-fraud case in US history. In order to avoid prosecution, Green and Rich fled the United States and moved to Switzerland. However in 2001 Green and Rich received a controversial presidential pardon from president Bill Clinton.
Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company was created through a merger of Glencore with Xstrata on 2 May 2013. As of 2015, it ranked tenth in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Glencore International was ranked as the 484th-largest public company in the world. As of July 2022, it was the world's largest commodity trader. In 2023, the company was ranked 59th in the Forbes Global 2000.
Ivan Glasenberg is a South African business executive and former chief executive officer of Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity trading and mining companies. He was the company's CEO from 2002 to 2021. Glasenberg has or had citizenship of South Africa and Australia. He became a Swiss citizen in 2011. He is also on the board of mining company Minara Resources Ltd.
Israel supported Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. Israel was one of the main suppliers of military equipment to Iran during the war. Israel also provided military instructors during the war, and in turn received Iranian intelligence that helped it carry out Operation Opera against Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor was a central component of Iraq's nuclear weapons program.
Vitol is a Swiss-based Dutch multinational energy and commodity trading company that was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 by Henk Viëtor and Jacques Detiger. Though trading, logistics and distribution are at the core of its business, these are notably complemented by refining, shipping, terminals, exploration and production, power generation, and retail businesses. Vitol has over 40 offices worldwide, with its largest operations in Geneva, Houston, London, and Singapore.
Denise Rich is an American-born Austrian singer-songwriter, socialite, philanthropist and political fundraiser.
650 Fifth Avenue is a 36-story 150 m (490 ft) building at Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Daniel Ammann is a Swiss journalist and author. He was educated at University of Zurich, UC Berkeley and Fondation Post Universitaire Internationale in Paris. He holds an MA in political science, history and constitutional law.
Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street's Wildest Con is a 2012 non-fiction book by the Canadian author and journalist Guy Lawson. The book was published by Crown Publishing on July 10, 2012.
Claude Dauphin was a French billionaire businessman and executive chairman of Trafigura Beheer BV, a company specialising in commodity trading. He was a founding partner of Trafigura and its CEO for a time. In March 2013, his net wealth was estimated at $1 billion by Forbes. Dauphin died from cancer in a hospital in Bogota at the age of 64 after two-years with lung cancer.
Fred Mouawad is a Lebanese businessman from Zgharta, Lebanon and based in Bangkok, Thailand. He has founded and is the CEO of seven companies. In 2013, Wealth-X named Mouawad the eighth richest diamond owner in the world, with a net worth of $1.1 billion.
Aristotelis Mistakidis is a Swiss-based Greek metals trader who became a billionaire working for Glencore. He has joint Greek/British citizenship.
Uri Singer, is a businessman and film producer. He is the owner and CEO of Passage Pictures.
Trouble is a 2009 novel by Kate Christensen. It is about two 40-something friends, Josie from New York and Raquel from Los Angeles, and their adventures in Mexico City.
