Jewish Philanthropist Marc Rich Dies in Switzerland at Age of 78

Financier and "King of Commodities” Marc Rich died on Wednesday following a stroke in Switzerland at the age of 78.

He was a long-time philanthropist who supported Israel and became a citizen of the country. He will be buried on Israel on Thursday.

Rich was born in Belgium, and his family fled the Nazis to the United States, where Rich was a college dropout before working for commodity traders and later becoming one of the world’s most influential players in the commodities market.

He fled the United States after a grand jury indicted him on 50 counts of various charges, ranging from fraud and tax evasion to trading with Iran during the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. Rich was on one of the FBI's 10 most wanted criminal suspects until  President Bill Clinton granted him a controversial pardon in 2001, his last day in office.

Rich, through his ex-wife, contributed $200,000 to the Democratic party in 2000.