He was born in 1963, raised in Switzerland and educated at Zurich University, UC Berkeley and Fondation Postuniversitaire Internationale in Paris. He holds an MA in Political Science, History and Constitutional Law. In 2007 he won the renowned Georg von Holtzbrinck Prize for Business Journalism. In 2006 he was awarded the Swiss Media Prize for Finance Journalism. His latest book The King of Oil - The Secret Lives of Marc Rich was just released by St. Martin's Press. Bloomberg named it "a must-read" and a "top five nonfiction book", Le Monde a "thriller" and The Daily Beast "a journalistic coup."