Evening star., 1955-01-27
Rubinstein
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iIlE Rubinstein
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Kdyiser TO the monk Rasputin.
Kild an official Of banks In Mos
E1W and st. Petersburg.
HhSince 1862 Rubinstein had
Ven fighting through the courts
Rgainst q deportation order. He
Hiso was In trouble with the
Movernment because, of some Of
his financial deals.
lhIfIe won an earlier deportation
Mght when the Government tried
jinsuccessfully to oust him on
the ground he entered the United
states on an illegal Portuguese
Bassport.
IIlIRubinstein was the subject Of
kn alleged extortion plot last
year.
ExtortiOn Charged.
Emanuel Lester, 81. Of the,
Bronx, is under a three-count
indictment charging him with
attempting to extort $685., 900
from the financier.
Lester, an alleged automobile
smuggler. claimed he was merely
trying to collect a debt from
Rubinstein, against whom he
had filed $750.000 lawsuit.
Lester also is charged with
smuggling automobiles here from
Canada and selling them with
/ false registration. He Is free In
$500 bail.
In fighting the Governments
deportation action, Rubinstein
cohtended that during the war
he was the citizen of a neutral
country tPortugaD, that he was
the sole support of his mother
and other relatives and that he
was in an essential occupation.
He had various Industrial In
terests aside from his financial
n1anipulations.
Father Fled Russia.
Rubinstein's father saw the
Red handwriting on the Krenalin
wall and fed Russia In 1917
shortly before the Bolsheyik rev-
olution that deposed the czar.
His wife and two children fol-
lowed him to Sweden a few
months later, Serge with the
family jewels pinned TO his shirt
tail, and a big sapphire hanging
around his neck.
Serge went to England, at
tended Cambridge and majored
in economics.
His fantastic financial career
began soon afterward.
He went to Switzerland, where
many rich and prudent Russians
had deposited savings before the
revolution.
Knowing that some Of them
had died, he examined dormant
bank accounts. He rounded UP
the heirs of one to claim his es-
tate and wound UP with a ST.
900 commission. ssa
Then Rubinstein moved to
Paris and acquired control Of an
international bank-not by in
vesting any money. but by as
suming half its debts.
He was only % when he be-
came managing director Of the
Banque Franco AsiatiQue.
Expelled From France.
Premier Pierre Laval expelled
him from France in 1885 for "al-
legged speculation against the
franc"
Rubinstein said later the real
reason was that Premier Laval
was anti-Semitic and that both
had competed for the hand Of q /
certain Partisan r1arquise.
'T won rather by default"
Rubinstein related, explaining
that after Mr.. Laval lost the
premiership she lost interest In
the politician.
Rubinstein, who enjoyed his
. own quips. once remarked that
Hitler's three hest allies were
the Englishman's week end. the
Frenchman's mistress and the
Americans indifference.
Rubinstein never put on the
cold and mysterious front ira
ditional Of financial tycoons. He
didn't mind telling how he
operated.
Told u Technique.
my technique in finance," he
once explained. "is to figure out
how much the company Is worth
dead--not living.
'I don't pay much attention
TO figures on q company,s earn.
ing power. I'm most interested
in finding out II the liquidation
price OF company's assets are
more than the price Of the
stock"
In an involved japanese n
nancial deal after being kicked
out Of France, Rubinstein made
. neat profit. but said ths op-