Armand Hammer

Armand Hammer (1898–1990) was an American industrialist and philanthropist who led Occidental Petroleum and founded the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center.

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Vladimir Lenin: Vladimir Lenin was a Russian revolutionary and the first head of government of Soviet Russia. Hammer met Lenin in 1921 and secured permission to trade with Soviet Russia.
Julius Hammer: Julius Hammer was a physician, socialist activist, and founder of the pharmaceutical company Allied Drug. His business and political life provided the family background for Armand’s early career.
Oil industry: The oil industry explores, extracts, refines, transports, and sells petroleum. Hammer’s wealth and public influence grew chiefly through Occidental’s oil and gas business.
Occidental Petroleum–Libya dispute: The Occidental Petroleum–Libya dispute was a conflict over oil concessions and compensation after Libya nationalized assets. The dispute tested Hammer’s negotiating approach and shaped Occidental’s position in Libya.
Occidental Petroleum: Occidental Petroleum is an American energy company founded in 1920. Hammer became its chief executive in 1957 and built it into a major oil company.
Allied Drug: Allied Drug was a pharmaceutical company founded by Julius Hammer in New York. Armand took charge of the family company while still a medical student.
Libya: Libya is a North African country with substantial petroleum resources. Occidental’s oil discoveries in Libya became a major source of Hammer’s corporate success.
Hammer Museum collection: The Hammer Museum collection comprises artworks and historical objects held by the Los Angeles museum. Hammer’s collecting formed the foundation of the museum’s permanent holdings.
Leonard Firestone: Leonard Firestone was an American businessman who served as Occidental Petroleum’s president. Firestone recruited Hammer to lead Occidental Petroleum.
Russian famine of 1921–1922: The Russian famine of 1921–1922 was a mass hunger crisis following civil war and drought. Hammer’s relief work during the famine helped open doors for his Soviet business ventures.