Trader

Ivan Glasenberg is a South African businessman and previous CEO of Glencore, one of the biggest commodities trading and mining enterprises in the world.

Early Life

Ivan Glasenberg was born to a Jewish household in South Africa. His father was a luggage maker and importer born in Lithuania, and his mother was South African. The family resided in Illovo, a Johannesburg neighborhood. In his early 20s, Glasenberg, an athlete, had won the national junior race walking championship.

Glasenberg was born to a Jewish household in South Africa. His father was “a luggage maker and importer born in Lithuania, and his mother was South African.

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The family resided in Illovo, a Johannesburg neighborhood. In his early 20s, Glasenberg, an athlete, had won the national junior race walking championship.

Success Story

Glasenberg began working for Glencore in 1984 and spent time in Australia and South Africa in the coal division. From 1989-1990, he oversaw Glencore’s offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. In 1991, he was named head of the organization’s coal division.In 2002, he was appointed CEO.

Glasenberg was identified by BusinessWeek in 2005 as a significant player in the clandestine commodity dealing of Marc Rich’s business, Mark Rich & Co. AG. Rich, a multibillionaire commodities trader, was subsequently granted a pardon by US President Bill Clinton after being accused of tax fraud and engaging in unlawful business with Iran.

Glencore became the corporate successor to Marc Rich & Co AG. In 2011, Glasenberg began acquiring more Glencore stock through his own dividends, spending up to an extra $54 million. Glasenberg was listed as owning more than 15% of Glencore’s stock in April 2012, making him the 20th wealthiest mining billionaire, according to Forbes, which pegged his total wealth at $7.3 billion.

Ivan Glasenberg was appointed CEO of the combined business after Glencore and Xstrata successfully completed one of the biggest mining company mergers in history, creating an $88 billion company. Originally, Glasenberg would have been President and Xstrata CEO Mick Davis would have been CEO in a merger of equals transaction; however, due to Qatar, a major Xstrata shareholder, refusing to participate, it turned into a takeover target.

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As a result, the new company, Glencore Xstrata, was formed with a 3.05 Glencore to 1 Xstrata share exchange, and Glasenberg was named CEO. In July 2013, Davis quit the company. Since 2002, Glasenberg has served as an executive director of Xstrata. He has also served as a non-executive director of Minara Resources Ltd., Rusal Plc., and Century Aluminum Co. between 2010 and 2011.

Following Glencore’s IPO on the London Stock Exchange, Glasenberg paid £240m in taxation to Rüschlikon. After a public vote, the residents’ tax rate was reduced by 7%, which was supported by a large majority of the villagers but drew condemnation from some of the villagers for what they perceived to be Glencore’s questionable business practices. His net wealth as of 2022 was $9.1 billion USD.