INDICTED FUGITIVE financier Marc Rich (a.k.a. Marc David Reich) was born in Belgium in 1934. His family fled the Nazis in 1942 and emigrated to America. Rich served his apprenticeship as a commodities trader under the tutelage of his millionaire father (a burlap-sack producer) and later, Philipp Brothers, a broker in raw metals. His tenure with Philipp Brothers taught Rich the dynamics of trading in natural resources with third world nations.

Rich's involvement with highly suspect business deals brought him to the attention of the U.S. federal government, and in the early 1980s, he was indicted for income tax fraud and breaking a U.S. embargo by selling oil to Iran during the hostage crisis. A criminal indictment was filed against Rich and his partner, Pincus Green, ...