Michael Armand Hammer, businessman and father of Armie Hammer, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 67 years old.
Hammer’s death was confirmed to People and TMZ.
Hammer was known for his involvement with Occidental Petroleum, the company of his late grandfather, oil tycoon Armand Hammer. He also supervised the Hammer International Foundation, the Armand Hammer Foundation, Hammer Exhibitions and Hammer Productions.
Prior to joining Occidental Petroleum in 1982, he held various positions at the New York-based investment banking firm Kidder, Peabody & Company.
Hammer was born on September 8, 1955, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Glenna Sue Irvin and Julian Armand Hammer. He graduated from the University of San Diego in 1978, and later received an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business in 1982.
Hammer and his ex-wife Drew Ann Mobley have two children together: actor Armie Hammer, 36, and businessman Victor Hammer, 34. He and Mobley were married for 27 years, from 1985 to 2012.
In 2021, Michael’s sister Casey Hammer said Vanity Fair Their father, Julian, only inherited $250,000 of their grandfather’s $40 million fortune. Michael acquired the majority of the estate, including two art galleries and two foundations.
In 2011, one of Hammer’s art galleries he inherited, the Knoedler Gallery, was embroiled in a massive art scam when hedge fund executive Pierre Lagrange sued the gallery and its former manager, Anne Friedman, for selling a fake Jackson Pollock painting for $17 million.
The charges, which first came to light in 2009, exposed an alleged $70 million counterfeiting ring selling fake paintings since 1994.
Although Hammer was not personally charged with misconduct related to the fraud ring, testimonies during the court alleged that he was using the show’s fund for personal expenses such as a trip to Paris and two luxury cars.
The Hammer family was the focus of the Discovery + series “House of Hammer,” which revealed several scandals in the family’s history.
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