Henry J. Leir
Encyclopedia
Henry J. Leir was an American industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He is primarily known for his role in the post-World War II
economic development of Luxembourg
.
, Prussian Silesia. His father died in 1911, leaving his mother alone to raise a large family that included, in addition to himself, an older brother and five sisters. Leipziger was therefore obligated to contribute very early in life to the material livelihood of his family.
In 1919, Leipziger moved to Mannheim
to join the Ludwigshafen branch of the large steel firm Wolf Netter & Jacobi, where he remained until 1931. He then moved to Bonn
with his wife Erna, whom he had married in 1929, to join the firm Magnesit GmbH, a manufacturer of refractories
. In 1933 the couple moved to Luxembourg
, where Leipziger founded the Société Anonyme des Minerais. This company was to become the foundation of his business empire.
n science fiction
novel, mostly in German, entitled La Grande Compagnie de Colonisation: Dokumente eines Grossen Planes. It was published under the pseudonym "Tom Palmer" by the hitherto unknown publisher Malpartes-Verlag Evy Friedrich of Luxembourg. Written in the form of a collection of fictional meeting minutes, press releases, private letters, telegrams and newspaper clippings, the book tells the story of a corporation based in Luxembourg, chartered with the purpose of developing all unused and unpopulated regions in the world. The company eventually succeeds in its goal, overcoming various forms of nationalist opposition to accomplish massive works: irrigating deserts, closing the Straits of Gibraltar and the Bosporus, building a canal through Nicaragua, tunneling under the English Channel, developing the mineral resources of South America and creating arable land in China. Contemporary reviewers of the work detected the influence of the murdered German industrialist Walther Rathenau
, who had published his own utopian vision Was wird werden in 1920.
as Grand Officier de l'Ordre Grand-Ducal de la Couronne de Chêne
. Shortly thereafter, in December 1939, Leir fled to New York City, where he was immediately granted a US passport and founded the Continental Ore Company. During the decades that followed, Leir forged a close relationship between the royal court of Luxembourg and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who traced his ancestry to Luxembourg through his mother Sara Delano. Over the decades following World War II
, Leir built upon these personal, bi-national relationships to attract several major American corporations to Luxembourg, among them Goodyear
, DuPont
, Monsanto Company, Wells Fargo
and Bank of America
.
In 1963 Armand Hammer's
Occidental Petroleum
acquired Leir's company Interore SA, a phosphate
mining and chemical trading multinational with operations in twenty-seven countries. Hammer's autobiography describes the meetings with Leir that led to this transaction, but included unflattering personal details about Leir that Leir later disputed. Another famous business associate of Leir's was Joseph Alioto
, who served as legal counsel for Leir's business interests before becoming mayor of San Francisco in 1968.
, one of their three home towns) and the Leir Foundation in Luxembourg. Among their donations were the endowments of several university chairs including the Henry J. Leir Professor of International Humanitarian Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University
, the Leir Professor of International Trade and Business at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
, the Henry J. Leir Professorial Chair at the Weizmann Institute in Israel
and the Henry J. Leir Professor of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
.
Henry J. Leir was also a major benefactor of Clark University
in Worcester
, Massachusetts
and founded the school's Luxembourg
program. In 1981, Clark University Press issued the first English translation of Leir's 1937 work La Grande Compagnie de Colonisation, together with new material concerning Leir's life. The edition also included a postscript by Christian Calmes (1913-95), a former Secretary General of the Council of Ministers of the European Communities in Brussels and grand marshal of the royal court of Luxembourg. The postscript describes Leir as a visionary of European and global integration in the tradition of the Club of Rome
and Jean Monnet
. The edition also reprints a 1980 letter to Leir from the Foundation Jean Monnet for Europe, announcing that Leir had been elected by unanimous vote to the Board of the Foundation.
and Ernest Backes, a former executive with the Luxembourg
clearing bank Clearstream
. The book alleges that Leir had been one of the world's richest men and the world's single largest arms dealer, with close ties to Nadhmi Auchi
, Adnan Khashoggi
and Bernie Cornfeld.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
economic development of Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
Early life and career
Leir was born Heinrich Hans Leipziger to a Jewish family in Beuthen-RoßbergBytom
Bytom is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central-western district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Bytom is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river .The city belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship since...
, Prussian Silesia. His father died in 1911, leaving his mother alone to raise a large family that included, in addition to himself, an older brother and five sisters. Leipziger was therefore obligated to contribute very early in life to the material livelihood of his family.
In 1919, Leipziger moved to Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
to join the Ludwigshafen branch of the large steel firm Wolf Netter & Jacobi, where he remained until 1931. He then moved to Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
with his wife Erna, whom he had married in 1929, to join the firm Magnesit GmbH, a manufacturer of refractories
Refractory metals
Refractory metals are a class of metals that are extraordinarily resistant to heat and wear. The expression is mostly used in the context of materials science, metallurgy and engineering. The definition of which elements belong to this group differs...
. In 1933 the couple moved to Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, where Leipziger founded the Société Anonyme des Minerais. This company was to become the foundation of his business empire.
Utopian Fiction
In August 1937, Leipziger completed a utopiaUtopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel, mostly in German, entitled La Grande Compagnie de Colonisation: Dokumente eines Grossen Planes. It was published under the pseudonym "Tom Palmer" by the hitherto unknown publisher Malpartes-Verlag Evy Friedrich of Luxembourg. Written in the form of a collection of fictional meeting minutes, press releases, private letters, telegrams and newspaper clippings, the book tells the story of a corporation based in Luxembourg, chartered with the purpose of developing all unused and unpopulated regions in the world. The company eventually succeeds in its goal, overcoming various forms of nationalist opposition to accomplish massive works: irrigating deserts, closing the Straits of Gibraltar and the Bosporus, building a canal through Nicaragua, tunneling under the English Channel, developing the mineral resources of South America and creating arable land in China. Contemporary reviewers of the work detected the influence of the murdered German industrialist Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau was a German Jewish industrialist, politician, writer, and statesman who served as Foreign Minister of Germany during the Weimar Republic...
, who had published his own utopian vision Was wird werden in 1920.
Between the USA and Luxembourg
The year 1939 was especially eventful for Leipziger, who adopted his new name "Henry J. Leir" about this time. Since his arrival in Luxembourg in 1933, Leir had become a close financial advisor to the House of Nassau-Weilburg, the rulers of the duchy since 1890. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the independence of Luxembourg, Leir was invested by Charlotte, Grand Duchess of LuxembourgCharlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg was the reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1919 to 1964.-Early life and life as Grand Duchess:...
as Grand Officier de l'Ordre Grand-Ducal de la Couronne de Chêne
Order of the Oak Crown
The Order of the Oak Crown is an Order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.-History:The Order of the Oak Crown was instituted by the Grand Duke-King William II, in 1841...
. Shortly thereafter, in December 1939, Leir fled to New York City, where he was immediately granted a US passport and founded the Continental Ore Company. During the decades that followed, Leir forged a close relationship between the royal court of Luxembourg and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who traced his ancestry to Luxembourg through his mother Sara Delano. Over the decades following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Leir built upon these personal, bi-national relationships to attract several major American corporations to Luxembourg, among them Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
, DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, Monsanto Company, Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
and Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
.
In 1963 Armand Hammer's
Armand Hammer
Armand Hammer was an American business tycoon most closely associated with Occidental Petroleum, a company he ran for decades, though he was known as well as for his art collection, his philanthropy, and for his close ties to the Soviet Union.Thanks to business interests around the world and his...
Occidental Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum Corporation is a California-based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America...
acquired Leir's company Interore SA, a phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
mining and chemical trading multinational with operations in twenty-seven countries. Hammer's autobiography describes the meetings with Leir that led to this transaction, but included unflattering personal details about Leir that Leir later disputed. Another famous business associate of Leir's was Joseph Alioto
Joseph Alioto
Joseph Lawrence Alioto was the 36th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1968 to 1976.-Biography:...
, who served as legal counsel for Leir's business interests before becoming mayor of San Francisco in 1968.
Philanthropy
Leir and his wife Erna supported several philanthropic causes through their Ridgefield Foundation (named after Ridgefield, ConnecticutRidgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
, one of their three home towns) and the Leir Foundation in Luxembourg. Among their donations were the endowments of several university chairs including the Henry J. Leir Professor of International Humanitarian Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
, the Leir Professor of International Trade and Business at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....
, the Henry J. Leir Professorial Chair at the Weizmann Institute in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Henry J. Leir Professor of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
.
Henry J. Leir was also a major benefactor of Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
in Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and founded the school's Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
program. In 1981, Clark University Press issued the first English translation of Leir's 1937 work La Grande Compagnie de Colonisation, together with new material concerning Leir's life. The edition also included a postscript by Christian Calmes (1913-95), a former Secretary General of the Council of Ministers of the European Communities in Brussels and grand marshal of the royal court of Luxembourg. The postscript describes Leir as a visionary of European and global integration in the tradition of the Club of Rome
Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is a global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues. Founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy, the CoR describes itself as "a group of world citizens, sharing a common concern for the future of humanity." It consists of current and...
and Jean Monnet
Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers...
. The edition also reprints a 1980 letter to Leir from the Foundation Jean Monnet for Europe, announcing that Leir had been elected by unanimous vote to the Board of the Foundation.
The Clearstream Affair
Three years after his death in 1998, Leir was featured prominently in the book Révélation$ (2001) by the investigative reporter Denis RobertDenis Robert
Denis Robert is a French freelance journalist and a writer. Robert formerly worked for Libération newspaper for 12 years....
and Ernest Backes, a former executive with the Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
clearing bank Clearstream
Clearstream
Clearstream Banking S.A. is the clearing and settlement division of Deutsche Börse, based in Luxembourg and Frankfurt. Clearstream was created in January 2000 through the merger of Cedel International and Deutsche Börse Clearing...
. The book alleges that Leir had been one of the world's richest men and the world's single largest arms dealer, with close ties to Nadhmi Auchi
Nadhmi Auchi
Nadhmi Shakir Auchi, , is a British Iraqi businessman and billionaire, founding president of the Anglo Arab Organisation, and the founder and chairman of General Mediterranean Holding , a conglomerate of 120 companies worldwide...
, Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi is a Saudi Arabian arms-dealer and businessman. He is also noted for his engagements with high society in both the Occident and Arabic-speaking worlds, and for his involvement in the Iran–Contra and Lockheed bribery scandals, and numerous other affairs...
and Bernie Cornfeld.