Armand Hammer

Armand Hammer (1898-1990) is known for his Cold War era “citizen diplomacy” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. He was called in his day “Lenin’s chosen capitalist,” and despite being friendly with major Soviet figures, was an avowed capitalist who made a fortune in the oil business. Now-disgraced actor Armie Hammer s his great-grandson. Armand’s father, Julius Hammer, emigrated to New York from Ukraine in the late 19th century. He was a pharmacist but was suspected of laundering money for Lenin. After the Russian Revolution, the Hammer family returned to Russia, where they were put up in the confiscated Fabergé mansion. Eventually, young Armand, ever the keen businessman, was given several manufacturing concessions in the Soviet Union, including asbestos in the Urals. By 1962, Hammer had returned to the United States and was very wealthy, both as a shrewd businessman and as someone with close ties to the Soviet Union at a time when almost no Americans did.