The World for Sale

every day, billions of dollars’ worth of oil, grain, and metals quietly change hands, keeping the modern world running smoothly. yet, most people have never heard of the companies orchestrating these transactions or the traders pulling the strings behind the scenes. these are not household names like tech giants or wall street banks, but they wield an outsized influence over global markets, geopolitics, and even daily life. this small group of commodity traders has, over decades, built personal fortunes and corporate empires by controlling the flow of the world’s most essential resources. operating from unassuming offices in places like switzerland and singapore, they’ve thrived by taking risks, entering conflict zones, and striking deals with regimes that others avoid. the result? immense wealth, strategic power, and a central role in the global economy – yet always remaining just out of the public eye.

in this chapter, you’ll learn how these traders evolved from opportunistic middlemen into financial powerhouses, their influence in volatile markets, and the ethical challenges posed by their pursuit of profit.

let’s start by looking at the bold entrepreneurs who laid the foundations for the modern commodity market.

in 1954, theodor weisser, a former german prisoner of war, crossed into the soviet union – a bold move at the height of the cold war. memories of soviet captivity during world war ii were still fresh, but weisser wasn’t deterred. he traveled to moscow not for politics, but to secure oil for mabanaft, his struggling german fuel distribution company. his target was soyuznefteexport, the soviet oil trading agency headed by evgeny gurov, who viewed oil as a geopolitical weapon. despite the tense atmosphere, weisser struck a groundbreaking deal, becoming the first independent trader to import soviet oil into west germany.

weisser’s initiative didn’t go unnoticed. back home, shipping companies and business partners shunned him for trading with a cold war adversary. but his determination paid off. he developed a long-term relationship with the soviets, paving the way for more deals and helping mabanaft establish itself as a key player in the international oil trade. weisser’s success highlighted the emerging role of commodity traders who dared to go where others wouldn’t, driven not by ideology, but by profit.

around the same time, ludwig jesselson of philipp brothers and john h. macmillan jr. of cargill were also expanding their businesses globally. jesselson built a vast network in metals trading, securing contracts with communist states and turning philipp brothers into the world’s leading metals dealer. macmillan focused on agricultural commodities, exporting american grain to eastern europe and the soviet union, even as political tensions flared.

these early traders laid the foundations of modern commodity trading by bypassing established monopolies, forming global networks, and focusing on cross-border deals. their success marked the start of a new economic era where commodity traders would quietly control the flow of vital resources.

jamaica was on the verge of chaos when hugh hart, the country’s minister for mines and energy, received a grim message – jamaica’s central bank had run out of money, and the country would run out of oil by the end of the weekend. desperate to avoid a shutdown of the nation’s only oil refinery, hart reached out to marc rich + co, a powerful commodity trading house led by the enigmatic marc rich, a figure who had revolutionized the global commodity trade. known for his willingness to take risks in politically unstable markets and his mastery of complex deals, rich had built a reputation as one of the most influential and controversial traders of his era. though initially reluctant, marc rich personally arranged for a venezuelan oil shipment to reroute and deliver 300,000 barrels to kingston, just in time to avert disaster.

this deal wasn’t an isolated gesture of goodwill. it illustrated how traders like rich had become financial lifelines for cash-strapped nations during the 1970s and 1980s. with global banks unwilling to lend to politically unstable countries, traders stepped in, offering financing, logistical support, and critical supplies in exchange for long-term, lucrative commodity deals. in jamaica’s case, marc rich + co provided credit, arranged oil shipments, and even helped fund jamaica’s olympic team – all without formal contracts, relying on relationships and calculated risks.

beyond oil, rich’s firm played a pivotal role in jamaica’s aluminium industry. when alumina prices fell in the mid-1980s, and major producers like alcoa prepared to exit the country, marc rich + co stepped in once again. they financed the government’s acquisition of a key plant, secured long-term purchase agreements, and introduced tolling deals with us smelters, positioning themselves as the world’s largest aluminium trader.

by offering financial support in unstable markets, marc rich and his firm gained unprecedented power. they acted as bankers in places where traditional finance wouldn’t tread, making huge profits while reshaping global trade. through bold deals and calculated risks, marc rich + co became an indispensable force in jamaica’s economy and a pioneer in the evolving role of commodity traders worldwide.

yet while rich’s bold deals helped struggling nations and built his firm’s global reputation, his relentless ambition and appetite for risk would ultimately lead to internal revolt.

marc rich’s empire wasn’t brought down by competition or lack of ambition, but by a mix of internal strife, risky trades, and growing distrust. by the early 1990s, rich, a pioneer in the global commodity trading business, was losing his grip on the company he had built into a dominant force. rich had made his name in the 1970s by breaking into politically volatile markets and providing commodities where others feared to tread. his trading house, marc rich + co, thrived by dealing in oil, metals, and grains – often with regimes under international sanctions. but by 1992, cracks had begun to show.

rich’s insistence on controlling the company, despite pressure from his top traders to distribute ownership more broadly, led to growing resentment. meanwhile, a high-risk attempt to corner the zinc market backfired spectacularly, costing the company $172 million. as liquidity dried up and banks grew wary, senior traders, led by willy strothotte, manny weiss, and claude dauphin, began preparing for rich’s ouster.

the breaking point came when rich’s oil team, fed up with his leadership style and distrustful of his ability to guide the company through the crisis, resigned en masse in early 1993. under mounting pressure from banks and former partners, rich agreed to step back and sell his majority stake. by 1994, marc rich + co had rebranded as glencore international, marking the end of an era.

though dethroned, rich’s legacy endured. his bold, high-risk approach reshaped commodity trading, paving the way for firms like glencore and trafigura to dominate global markets. rich left the industry, but the trading houses he inspired continued to expand quietly into global financial powerhouses, turning resource flows into fortunes. his rise and fall illustrate how ambition and secrecy can catapult someone to the heights of global finance – but also how quickly it can all unravel.

in the early 1990s, the collapse of the soviet union left cuba scrambling for economic survival. with moscow’s support gone, the island faced crippling shortages of food, fuel, and basic goods. desperate for help, fidel castro turned to commodity traders like vitol. under ian taylor’s leadership, vitol supplied oil and refined products in exchange for cuban sugar. when sugar production plummeted and repayment stalled, taylor’s team went as far as investing in havana’s tourism industry, building cuba’s first five-star hotel, the parque central, to recoup its investment.

this scene was emblematic of the era. with the soviet economic system in tatters, traders stepped in to bridge the gap, providing credit, essential supplies, and a pathway to international markets for newly independent states across eastern europe and central asia. while other investors shied away from post-soviet instability, traders embraced the risks. they pioneered bartering strategies in cash-strapped economies, exchanging oil, metals, and agricultural products for goods rather than money.

vitol’s success in cuba was mirrored by its ventures across former soviet republics. in russia, kazakhstan, and tajikistan, traders secured deals for oil, aluminum, and minerals, financing governments and companies struggling to navigate a free market. glencore, under marc rich’s legacy, financed tajikistan during its civil war by buying its aluminum exports, while other traders like trafigura expanded into uzbekistan and romania.

yet, the post-soviet landscape was not without controversy. some traders navigated deeply corrupt systems, bartered in war zones, and operated in opaque financial networks. despite the turmoil, this high-stakes environment propelled firms like vitol, glencore, and trafigura to dominate global commodity markets.

by the end of the decade, these traders had reshaped world trade, quietly embedding themselves in economies from cuba to central asia. what began as opportunism during chaos soon solidified into long-term dominance. the global economy had changed, and the traders were leading the way.

as the sun rises over kolwezi, a mining hub in the democratic republic of congo, trucks carrying fuel, ore, and acid clog the roads, heading toward mutanda – one of the richest mineral deposits in the world. owned by glencore, mutanda symbolizes how commodity traders penetrated african markets, transforming economies while operating in environments rife with political instability and corruption. the early 2000s brought a surge of interest in africa’s vast resources, driven by china’s booming demand for commodities like copper, cobalt, and oil. traders like glencore and trafigura seized the opportunity, investing in mines and oilfields while providing financing to governments that struggled to attract traditional investors.

the influx of dollars revitalized the continent, quadrupling sub-saharan africa’s economy from 2001 to 2011. however, it also entrenched corrupt political elites. traders often worked through well-connected middlemen and fixers who navigated local bureaucracy and facilitated questionable deals. one such figure was dan gertler, an israeli diamond merchant who became a key ally of congolese president joseph kabila. gertler’s connections helped glencore secure stakes in congolese mines, making it a major player in the global copper and cobalt markets. but these dealings drew scrutiny, and in 2018, the u.s. department of justice launched a probe into glencore’s activities in congo, tarnishing the company’s reputation.

other traders faced similar controversies. trafigura, for instance, became infamous for the probo koala scandal in ivory coast, where toxic waste dumping caused a health crisis. meanwhile, cargill went as far as printing its own currency in zimbabwe during a financial meltdown to keep its cotton operations running.

while traders undeniably spurred economic growth, their actions often exploited weak regulatory environments. they thrived by blending bold investments with political savvy, securing resources in some of the world’s most challenging markets – at significant social and ethical costs.

in april 2008, chinese premier wen jiabao stood before farmers in hebei province, attempting to calm mounting fears of food shortages amid skyrocketing prices. publicly, wen assured the nation that china’s grain reserves were sufficient, but behind the scenes, the leadership was anxious. prices for staples like wheat, rice, and soybeans had more than doubled due to increasing demand from emerging markets and bad weather disrupting crops worldwide. this food crisis exposed how fragile the global food supply had become and set the stage for a new level of dependence on commodity traders.

as china’s appetite for soybeans exploded in the mid-2000s, imports accounted for more than half of global trade by 2008. facing food inflation and political unrest, china turned to the only entities capable of securing supplies: the powerful agricultural trading firms known as the “abcd” — archer daniels midland – or adm, bunge, cargill, and louis dreyfus. these companies played a dual role: supplying food to nervous governments while profiting from bets on future price movements.

commodity traders didn’t just move food; they leveraged privileged information to place speculative bets. during the financial crisis of 2008, cargill made over $1 billion by betting correctly that commodity prices would fall. glencore, on the other hand, profited handsomely in 2010 when a russian drought slashed wheat output, pushing prices up after the company discreetly advocated for an export ban.

while some blamed traders for rising food prices, the real issue was systemic. ethanol production, heavily promoted by adm through decades of lobbying, diverted vast amounts of corn to fuel, tightening global food supplies. by 2011, one-sixth of the world’s corn was used for ethanol.

this era marked a high point for commodity traders, who amassed record profits. yet, for millions suffering from hunger and rising food costs, it was a grim reminder of the ethical dilemma inherent in profiting from essential resources.

before dawn in may 2011, some of the world’s most powerful commodity traders arrived at glencore’s headquarters in switzerland. by sunrise, the parking lot was full. the event they had waited for – the publication of glencore’s ipo prospectus – would finally reveal what had been a closely guarded secret: who owned the world’s largest commodity trading company, and how much they were worth. by day’s end, it was clear that glencore’s ipo was not just a financial milestone; it was a moment of reckoning for an industry long shrouded in secrecy. ceo ivan glasenberg alone owned an 18.1% stake, instantly placing him among the wealthiest people on the planet, with a fortune of $9.3 billion. seven other glencore executives joined the billionaire ranks that day.

the ipo marked the peak of a commodity boom fueled by china’s rapid growth. for years, commodity traders operated quietly, controlling vast flows of essential resources like oil, coal, and food. they wielded immense influence, profiting handsomely from price volatility, often away from public scrutiny. now, glencore’s ipo forced the entire sector into the spotlight, revealing not only staggering wealth but also the immense global power these traders held.

as the old model of trading – buying low in one market, selling high in another – became less viable due to increasing transparency, traders like glencore adapted. they invested heavily in mines, oilfields, and infrastructure, transforming themselves from middlemen into operators of global supply chains. the ipo gave glencore the financial firepower to expand further, including its merger with mining giant xstrata, making it one of the world’s largest resource producers.

while the ipo unlocked new growth opportunities, it also exposed traders to intense public scrutiny and market volatility. this newfound visibility marked a turning point for the industry, as the commodity trading houses could no longer operate entirely in the shadows. yet, their wealth and influence continue to grow.

the main takeaway of this chapter to the world for sale by javier blas and jack farchy is that…

commodity traders have evolved from obscure middlemen into powerful forces shaping the global economy. by navigating volatile markets, striking high-risk deals, and seizing opportunities in unstable regions, they’ve amassed extraordinary wealth and influence. these traders have fueled economies, supported struggling nations, and played pivotal roles in world events – all while operating largely out of public view. despite controversies and ethical dilemmas, their adaptability and bold strategies continue to drive global trade.

okay, that’s it for this chapter. we hope you enjoyed it. if you can, please take the time to leave us a rating – we always appreciate your feedback. see you in the next chapter.