Armand Hammer

Armand Hammer
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Name	Armand Hammer
Caption	Armand Hammer in 1972
Birth date	21 May 1898
Birth place	New York City, U.S.
Death date	10 December 1990
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Columbia University (BA, MD)
Occupation	Businessman, art collector, philanthropist
Known for	Leadership of Occidental Petroleum, Soviet–American trade, art collection
Spouse	Baroness Olga von Root, Angela Carey Zevely, Frances Barrett Tolman
Children	Julian Hammer

Armand Hammer was an American businessman, art collector, and philanthropist whose career was defined by ambitious international trade ventures and close, often controversial, ties to the Soviet Union. As the longtime chairman of Occidental Petroleum, he built a vast corporate empire and became one of the most prominent capitalists to engage with the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. His life was a complex tapestry of high-stakes commerce, major philanthropic donations, and persistent political intrigue, leaving a legacy that remains widely debated.

Early life and education

He was born in New York City to Julius Hammer and Rose Robinson, immigrants from the Russian Empire. His father, a physician and founding member of the Socialist Labor Party of America, operated a pharmacy and later faced legal troubles that significantly impacted the family. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1919 and proceeded to its College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating with a Doctor of Medicine in 1921. During his medical studies, he demonstrated early business acumen by founding a pharmaceutical firm, using the proceeds to support his family after his father's conviction in a highly publicized incident.

Business career

His business career began in earnest with a 1921 trip to the newly formed Soviet Russia, ostensibly to provide medical aid during a typhus epidemic. He secured a pivotal concession from Vladimir Lenin's government to operate an asbestos mine in the Urals, marking the start of his decades-long commercial relationship with the Kremlin. Over subsequent years, he facilitated trade deals, including exporting Ural malachite and importing American Ford Motor Company tractors. After returning to the United States, he made a fortune in the bourbon barrel business and later gained control of the struggling Occidental Petroleum in 1957, transforming it into a global energy giant with major operations in Libya, Peru, and the North Sea.

Philanthropy and art collection

He was a prolific philanthropist, with donations often bearing his name, such as the Armand Hammer Center for Cancer Biology at the Salk Institute and the Armand Hammer United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico. His most famous cultural contribution was the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center in Westwood, established to house his extensive personal collection. The collection featured major works by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, and a comprehensive array of pieces by Honoré Daumier, much of which he later bequeathed to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Political connections and controversies

His unique position as a capitalist bridge to the Soviet Union involved deep relationships with successive Soviet leaders, including Leonid Brezhnev and Mikhail Gorbachev, and he played an unofficial role in several diplomatic initiatives. These activities attracted ongoing scrutiny from agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, with persistent allegations that he acted as an intermediary or even an agent of influence for the KGB. His 1970s project to construct a massive fertilizer plant in the Soviet Union became a subject of congressional investigation, and he was later convicted for making illegal campaign contributions during the administration of Richard Nixon.

Later life and death

In his later years, he actively pursued the Nobel Peace Prize and continued to expand Occidental Petroleum's international footprint, including a landmark 1987 joint venture with the Soviet Union for chemical production. He remained chairman and CEO until his death, maintaining an intense schedule of global travel and deal-making well into his nineties. He died from complications of bone marrow cancer in Los Angeles on December 10, 1990, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. His complex legacy is preserved through his namesake institutions, his controversial biography, and the ongoing operations of the corporation he led for over three decades.

Category:American businesspeople Category:American art collectors Category:American philanthropists