Ivan Glasenberg

Ivan Glasenberg (born 7 January 1957) is the chief executive officer of Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity trading and mining companies. 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.

Background and early career
Glasenberg was born 7 January 1957 in South Africa to a Jewish family. His father, Samuel Glasenberg, was "a luggage manufacturer and importer born in Lithuania", and his mother, Blanche Vilensky, was South African. The family lived in Illovo, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg. Glasenberg was an athlete, and by his early 20s was national junior champion in race walking. Ivan married Elana Beverley Orelowitz in 1984. In his youth Glasenberg was also a friend of Mick Davis, who would become the CEO of mining company Xstrata.

Glasenberg graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Glasenberg was with Nexia Levitt Kirson, a firm of chartered accountants, for five years and is a Chartered Accountant, South Africa [CA (SA)]. He received his MBA from the IBEAR program at University of Southern California in 1983.

Business career

Glencore International
Glasenberg joined Glencore in 1984, working in the coal department in South Africa and Australia. He managed Glencore's Hong Kong and Beijing offices from 1989 to 1990, and became head of the company's coal department in 1991. He was named CEO in 2002.

In 2005, BusinessWeek referred to Glasenberg as a key figure in the secretive commodities trading of Marc Rich's company Mark Rich & Co. AG. Rich was a billionaire commodities trader, who was charged with tax evasion and illegal deals with Iran, but later pardoned by US President Bill Clinton. Glencore is the corporate successor to Marc Rich & Co AG.

As of August 2011, it has been reported that, due to the economic climate, Glasenberg lost 788 million as his share price plummeted 13.2 per cent leaving his 15.8 per cent of the company worth GB£4.7 billion. In September 2011, using his own dividends, Glasenberg started buying a larger share of Glencore, buying up to an additional 54 million of Glencore stock. In April 2012 it was reported that Glasenberg held more than 15 per cent of Glencore's stock, placing him as the 20th richest mining billionaire, with Forbes estimating his net worth at US$7.3 billion.

Glencore Xstrata
Glasenberg became CEO of the merged entity created when Glencore and Xstrata finalised one of the largest mining company mergers in history creating a US$88 billion company. Originally Xstrata CEO Mick Davis was to be CEO while Glasenberg would be President in a merger-of-equals transaction, however due to holding out of major Xstrata shareholder Qatar, it became a takeover target, with a 3.05 Glencore to 1 Xstrata Share exchange to create the new entity Glencore Xstrata with Glasenberg becoming CEO. Davis left the company in July 2013.

Glasenberg has served an executive director of Xstrata Plc (since 2002); and as a non-executive director of Minara Resources Ltd (since 2000); of Rusal Plc (since 2007); and Century Aluminum Co. (between 2010–2011).

Personal life
Glasenberg has been a champion race-walker for both South Africa and Israel, and runs and swims daily to maintain his fitness. He is married with two children, and a resident of the village of Rüschlikon in Switzerland. Glasenberg paid 360 million SFr (£240m) in taxes to Rüschlikon following Glencore's flotation on the London Stock Exchange.  The money enabled the residents to cut their taxation rate by 7%, which was approved by large majority after a public vote, and attracted criticism from some villagers with regards to Glencore's alleged controversial business practices.

Wealth rankings
When Glencore floated via an initial public offering in May 2011, it was reported that Glasenberg personally earned billions. In 2013 he replaced Mick Davis as CEO of the merged Glencore Xstrata, with a salary of an undisclosed amount. By 2016 according to Forbes Asia, Glasenberg had failed to make the cutoff of the 50 wealthiest Australians by net worth, with a threshold of 500 million. In 2017 the Financial Review Rich List assessed Glassenberg's net worth at 6.85 billion.

References

Further reading

Category:1957 births
Category:Living people
Category:Australian Jews
Category:Australian billionaires
Category:Australian people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
Category:South African commodities traders
Category:South African financiers
Category:South African Jews
Category:South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
Category:South African investors
Category:South African stock traders
Category:South African emigrants to Australia
Category:Naturalised citizens of Australia
Category:Swiss financiers
Category:Swiss Jews
Category:Swiss investors
Category:Swiss stock traders
Category:Marshall School of Business alumni
Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni
Category:Swiss billionaires
Category:Glencore people
Category:Businesspeople in metals