Nutrien
A merger sold as a fix for low fertilizer prices delivered cost cuts — but no proof it could raise prices.
Comedy
The hardest thing to do and the least respected when it works.
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Glencore
Marc Rich · 1974
Glencore is a vertically integrated commodity trader and miner whose power rests on controlling physical flows — especially zinc and copper — across jurisdictions. It emerged from Marc Rich + Co AG in 1994 after Rich was forced out following a failed zinc market corner. Its structure splits legal registration (Jersey), operational HQ (Baar), and oil-and-gas command (London). It holds no disclosed valuation or margin, but its 2010 market shares — 60% in zinc, 50% in copper — show where its leverage lies: not in brands or code, but in tons moved, stored, and priced across borders.
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