10 Things You Didn’t Know About A-Mark Precious Metals CEO Gregory Roberts
Precious metals are a commodity that will never go out of business. This is the reason why trading company A-Mark Precious Metal has been successful in the industry since its founding in 1965. Part of having an outstanding business is having excellent leadership. Gregory N. Roberts has been part of A-Mark since 2005, and he’s helped lead the company into the future it’s in now. The Fortune 500 California-based company is probably most famous for being the first business ever allowed to make and sell coins from the SS Gairsoppa shipwreck. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about A-Mark Precious Metal’s CEO, Gregory N. Roberts.
1. Numismatics
It’s clear from his work history that Roberts has always been into the coin industry. Aside from working for A-Mark, Roberts’ previous jobs have included working for Spectrum Numismatics International. The field itself isn’t widespread, so it’s a testament to Roberts’ dedication for him to be able to establish a name and a business that’s as lucrative as A-Mark. Roberts is also member of the American Numismatic Association and the Professional Numismatics Guild.
2. Spectrum
Roberts has a lot of connections with the Spectrum Group International Inc. Aside from merging with the company in 2009 and acting as President/CEO of Spectrum, Roberts also worked for another division of the corporation. He’s been CEO of the Spectrum Wine Auctions, LLC, which is probably one of the only few times Roberts deviated from the precious metals and numismatics field. He was President of the Coin Trading Division at Spectrum Group International, and before that he served as President of Spectrum Numismatics International for 18 years—from 1990 until 2008.
3. Rare coins
It takes a special eye to detail and a unique skill set to be able to spot the rarest coins around. Of course it also takes a lot of research, historical knowledge, and just pure experience in order to be a successful numismatist. Some of Roberts’ best purchases include the King of Siam proof set, the Eliasberg-Stickney 1804 Silver Dollar, and the 1861 Pacquet Liberty Gold Coin. Roberts purchased the Silver Dollar for $1.8 million USD, and the Gold Coin cost him $1 million USD.
4. Lifetime member
If you have the experience and the industry background the way Roberts does, you’d also expect a lifetime membership into something. Roberts is a lifetime member of the Professional Numismatist Guild, an organization comprised of the industry’s foremost experts. It’s not an easy organization to get into. For one, you need to have at least a net worth of $500k USD. You also must have at least 5 years experience as a professional numismatist.
5. A-Mark
Roberts has been CEO of A-Mark for just about 14 years now, and in that amount of time, the CEO has managed to get to know his company quite well. In an interview with the LA Times a few years back, Roberts said that their revenue was approaching the $8 billion mark. That kind of volume in any industry is a challenge to manage. But Roberts clearly knows who their customers are and what their needs are. Roberts knows exactly how to move their inventory and how to manage their goods.
6. Hands-on
Most CEOs leave the operations part of their companies in the hands of employees, but not Roberts. Roberts maintains a day-to-day involvement within A-Mark. He’s responsible for bridging the senior management to junior management personnel. Roberts is also responsible for the general oversight of the Board and its responsibilities. This CEO is as hands on as they could get. It makes sense considering how passionate he is about what he does. Being CEO of A-Mark is not just a career for Roberts; numismatics is exactly what he wanted to do all his life.
7. Compensation
A-Mark Precious Metals has slowly built itself to become the multi-billionaire company that it is today. Being CEO of A-Mark and for many years now at that, Roberts is compensated well for his position and his work. In one fiscal year, Roberts receives an annual compensation of roughly $570,000. That amount includes his base salary of $540,000, and the rest comes from all other types of compensation. That amount doesn’t include any restricted stock awards or any long-term incentive plans.
8. Hannes Tulving
Before Roberts got into business with Spectrum Numismatics International, he was in business with Hannes Tulving in Newport Beach, California. In fact, Roberts worked for Hannes Tulving for nine years. Hannes Tulving was the founder of the Tulving Company, an online bullion and precious metals dealer. Tulving was infamous for going to prison for fraudulent activity that was worth $15 million USD. Tulving defrauded more than 380 customers during that time. Roberts was gone long before any of this happened. Tulving was sent to prison in 2016.
9. Net worth
As of 2018, Roberts’ net worth is at $2.66 million. While his net worth may be modest compared to other executives’ net worth, Roberts is in an extremely specialized industry. There’s a lot of money that’s active in numismatics, but the transactions are fewer. Numismatics is an important contributor to the economy, but it isn’t a mainstream industry. Interest in the field comes and goes over the years.
10. Privacy
We know quite a bit about Roberts’ professional life. His work has relatively stayed the same throughout the later parts of his career. While we know a lot of his positions in the executive office, we’re not familiar with what he did before he worked for Tulving in 1981. Around that time, Roberts should’ve just been getting out of high school. His personal life is relatively unknown even today. We don’t know anything about his educational background, and we don’t know anything about his family life either.
