Ivan Glasenberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ivan Glasenberg
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Glasenberg in 2013
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| Born | 7 January 1957 Johannesburg, South Africa
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| Occupation | Commodities |
| Known for | Former CEO of Glencore |
| Children | 2 |
Ivan Glasenberg (born January 7, 1957) is a very successful South African businessman. He used to be the main boss, or CEO, of Glencore. Glencore is one of the world's biggest companies that trades and mines raw materials like metals and coal. He led the company for almost 20 years, from 2002 to 2021. Ivan Glasenberg has citizenship in South Africa, Australia, and Switzerland.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ivan Glasenberg was born on January 7, 1957, in South Africa. His family was Jewish. His father, Samuel Glasenberg, made and imported luggage. His mother, Blanche Vilensky, was from South Africa. They lived in Illovo, a suburb of Johannesburg.
Ivan was a good athlete when he was young. By his early twenties, he was a national junior champion in race walking. In 1984, he married Elana Beverley Orelowitz. He was also friends with Mick Davis, who later became the CEO of another mining company called Xstrata.
Glasenberg studied at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He earned degrees in Commerce and Accountancy. He worked for five years at a firm of chartered accountants. He is a certified Chartered Accountant (CA) in South Africa. Later, he earned his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1983.
Business Career
Leading Glencore
Ivan Glasenberg joined Glencore in 1984. He started in the coal department in South Africa and Australia. From 1989 to 1990, he managed Glencore's offices in Hong Kong and Beijing. In 1991, he became the head of the company's coal department. He was made CEO of Glencore in 2002.
In 2005, BusinessWeek magazine mentioned Glasenberg as an important person in the commodities trading world. This was linked to Marc Rich's company, which was the company before Glencore. Marc Rich was a very wealthy trader who faced serious legal issues, but was later pardoned by US President Bill Clinton.
In September 2011, Glasenberg used his own money to buy more shares in Glencore. He bought an extra US$54 million worth of Glencore stock. By April 2012, reports said he owned more than 15 percent of Glencore's stock. This made him one of the richest mining billionaires. Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at US$7.3 billion.
In December 2020, Glasenberg announced he would retire in 2021. He stepped down as CEO after almost 20 years. Another South African, Gary Nagle, who used to run the company's coal business, took over as the new CEO.
Glencore and Xstrata Merge
Glasenberg became the CEO of a new, much larger company. This happened when Glencore and Xstrata joined together. It was one of the biggest mergers in mining history, creating an US$88 billion company.
At first, the plan was for Xstrata's CEO, Mick Davis, to be the CEO of the new company. Glasenberg would be the President. However, a major Xstrata shareholder, Qatar, held out. This led to Glencore taking over Xstrata. The deal changed, and Glasenberg became the CEO of the new company, called Glencore Xstrata. Mick Davis left the company in July 2013.
Glasenberg has also been a director for other companies. He was an executive director of Xstrata Plc starting in 2002. He was also a non-executive director for Minara Resources Ltd (since 2000) and Rusal Plc (since 2007). He was also on the board of Century Aluminum Co. from 2010 to 2011.
Personal Life
Ivan Glasenberg was a champion race-walker for both South Africa and Israel. He stays fit by running and swimming every day. He is married and has two children. He lives in the village of Rüschlikon in Switzerland.
After Glencore was listed on the London Stock Exchange, Glasenberg paid a large amount of taxes, 360 million Swiss francs (£240 million), to Rüschlikon. This money allowed the people living there to lower their taxes by 7%. This decision was approved by a large number of villagers. However, some villagers were critical because Glencore had faced some criticism for its business methods.
In 2023, Forbes estimated his net worth to be US$8.8 billion. The Australian Financial Review 2023 Rich List estimated his wealth at AUD$13.6 billion.
Honours
- Russia
Recipient of the Order of Friendship (2017)
