Wikipedia

Steven Markoff

Steven C. Markoff is an American entrepreneur, film producer, author, and educator. He is the founder of the A-Mark Financial Corporation, a financial services firm based in Santa Monica, California that originally traded in rare coins and precious metals. He later created a series of websites (most notably ProCon.org) with the goal of providing nonpartisan information about a wide range of social and political topics. In the mid-2000s, Markoff served as an executive producer on several films including Alpha Dog, Next Day Air and Stander. He published the non-fiction books, The Case Against George W. Bush, HANDBOOK – The First 100 Years Of The ACLU: A Compendium Of Advocacy Before The United States Supreme Court, and Misfire: The Supreme Court, The Second Amendment, Our Right to Bear Arms, through Rare Bird Books.[1]

Steven Markoff
Alma materLos Angeles City College
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • producer
  • author
Years active1965–present
Known forFounder of A-Mark Financial and ProCon.org
Notable workThe Case Against George W. Bush
Websitestevencmarkoff.com

Life and career

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Steven Markoff is a native of Los Angeles.[2] He graduated from Los Angeles City College in 1964.[3] In 1965,[4] Markoff founded the A-Mark Financial Corporation, a Santa Monica-based financial services company that trades in rare coins and precious metals.[5] The company was originally known as the A-Mark Coin Company[6] (and later A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc.).[7] A-Mark initially operated primarily as a wholesaler of rare coins and gold and silver bullion.[8] In addition to serving as chairman and CEO of A-Mark,[6] Markoff also held the role of president of the American Coin Exchange in the 1970s.[9]

In January 1976, Markoff (through A-Mark) purchased The Redfield Hoard silver dollar collection for $7.3 million.[10] The collection consisted of over 407,000 silver dollar coins weighing a total of 12 tons.[6] Later that year, Markoff facilitated A-Mark's purchase of the J.E. Wilkinson gold pattern coin collection, consisting of 45 coins valued at a total $5 million. The collection also featured the 1907 Indian Head Double Eagle pattern worth $1 million on its own.[11] The coin was formerly owned by King Farouk of Egypt.[12] Markoff saw continued success through A-Mark with sales exceeding $1 billion annually in the 1980s and 90s.[13][14] In 2000, the Los Angeles Business Journal listed A-Mark Financial Corporation as the second-largest privately-owned firm in Los Angeles.[5] Greg Manning Auctions Inc. bought a majority stake in A-Mark for $16 million in 2005.[15] Thereafter, the firm changed its name to Escala Group,[16] then to Spectrum Group International Inc.[17] In 2009, it purchased the remainder of A-Mark.[18]

In 1997, Markoff founded the A-Mark Foundation with the goal of funding organizations and ventures that promote charitable, humanitarian, and/or educational causes. He also wanted to use the foundation to fund, produce, and support outlets that create nonpartisan research. This ultimately led to the 2004 foundation of ProCon.org, a nonpartisan online research database that discusses the pros and cons of a wide range of controversial social and political topics. Markoff would later create more specific websites that provided nonpartisan information on subjects like George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the September 11 attacks.[2][19] ProCon.org was eventually acquired by Encyclopædia Britannica in 2020.[20]

In 2005, Markoff helped create the production company, A-Mark Entertainment. Other partners in the venture included Bruce McNall, Nick Cassavetes, and Robert Geringer.[21] Markoff served as a producer or executive producer on a number of films in the 2000s, including Alpha Dog (2006),[22] Autopsy (2008),[23] and Next Day Air (2009).[24] In May 2011, Markoff purchased an interest in Grauman's (TCL) Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.[25] Markoff also purchased the Two Bunch Palms Resort & Spa in Desert Hot Springs, California in February 2012[26] which he later sold in 2015.[27]

In November 2020, Markoff published the non-fiction book, The Case Against George W. Bush, via Rare Bird Books. The book discusses the George W. Bush presidential administration and Bush's handling of the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War. In the book, Markoff makes a case that President George W. Bush's handling of certain issues were actually crimes.[28] Markoff was interviewed by Ralph Nader on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour about his book “where he dispassionately lays out the three major war crimes the former president committed by invading Iraq.” HANDBOOK – The First 100 Years Of The ACLU: A Compendium Of Advocacy Before The United States Supreme Court, Markoff’s second book, became available January 2023. It received a Los Angeles Book Festival runner up award in the Wildcard Category in April 2024; Misfire: The Supreme Court, The Second Amendment, Our Right to Bear Arms, Markoff’s third book, became available May 14, 2024.[29]

Filmography

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Year Title
[30] 		Role Notes
2002 No Good Deed Executive producer Uncredited
2003 Stander[31] Executive producer
2005 Asylum[32] Executive producer
2006 Alpha Dog[22] Executive producer
2007 Timber Falls[33] Producer
2008 Camille[34] Producer Cameo as Niagara Falls Tour Guide
Autopsy[23] Producer
2009 Night Train[35] Producer
Next Day Air[24] Executive producer
Nine Miles Down Producer
2010 Beatdown Executive producer
2011 The Pool Boys[36] Executive producer Also known as American Summer

Bibliography

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Year Title Original publisher ISBN Notes
2024 Misfire: The Supreme Court, The Second Amendment, Our Right to Bear Arms Rare Bird Books ISBN 978-1644284438
2023 HANDBOOK – The First 100 Years Of The ACLU: A Compendium Of Advocacy Before The United States Supreme Court Rare Bird Books ISBN 978-1644283387 Foreword by Erwin Chemerinsky
2020 The Case Against George W. Bush Rare Bird Books ISBN 978-1644281352 Foreword by Richard A. Clarke

References

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  1. ^ "Steven C Markoff". stevencmarkoff.com. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Suchecki, Paul M.J. (February 20, 2015). "Both Sides Now: How a Funder Bankrolls Informed Public Debate". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "Distinguished Alumni". Los Angeles City College. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Limited-Issue 25th Anniversary Gold Canadian Maple Leaf Now Available". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. November 1, 2004. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "TOP 100—Silence Is Golden for L.A.'s Largest Private Firms". Los Angeles Business Journal. October 30, 2000. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Bassett, Edward W. (August 25, 1976). "Gold Coins: Inflation Hedge?". Lebanon Daily News. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Crouch, Gregory (October 27, 1987). "The Road to Failure at Valley State Bank". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Fox, Stephen (September 19, 1976). "Coins good as gold". Escondido Times-Advocate. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Bag Of 10,000 Dimes Is Newest Investment". The Baltimore Sun. February 21, 1973. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  10. ^ "Collection of silver dollars". The Berkeley Gazette. January 30, 1976. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  11. ^ Robbins, Fred (June 25, 1976). "Gold pattern coin collection sold". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Million-dollar coin surfaces in N.Y. display". Chicago Tribune. August 29, 1976. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  13. ^ Rutten, Tim (February 15, 1991). "Vietnam's Shadows in Persian Gulf". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "A-Mark Financial Corporation". Encyclopedia.com. December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  15. ^ "Greg Manning Auctions Buys A-Mark". Los Angeles Times. July 19, 2005. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  16. ^ "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK" (PDF). Sec. Gov.
  17. ^ "Spectrum Group International Inc SPGZ Board". Investors Hub. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  18. ^ White, Ronald (July 6, 2014). "A-Mark Precious Metals may profit from increased awareness". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  19. ^ Jamison, Peter (August 3, 2015). "Dept. of Water & Pow!". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  20. ^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica Acquires ProCon.org". ProCon.org. May 29, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  21. ^ Fleming, Michael (March 6, 2005). "Venture hits A-Mark". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  22. ^ a b Chang, Justin (January 27, 2006). "Alpha Dog". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Harvey, Dennis (January 12, 2009). "Autopsy". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  24. ^ a b McNary, Dave (February 11, 2009). "Summit delivers 'Next Day Air'". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  25. ^ Glick Kudler, Adrian (October 4, 2011). "Chinese Theatre Getting Some Work Done". Curbed. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  26. ^ Miller, Daniel (February 22, 2012). "'The Player' Hideaway Two Bunch Palms Resort Sold to Hollywood Producers (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  27. ^ Hughes, Paul. "NB Investor Buys Resort in Desert Hot Springs". Orange County Business Journal.
  28. ^ "The Case Against George W. Bush". Kirkus Reviews. September 26, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  29. ^ "Steven C Markoff". stevencmarkoff.com. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  30. ^ "Steve Markoff". IMDb. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  31. ^ Harris, Dana (September 22, 2003). "Newmarket 'Stander' bearer". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  32. ^ Cockrell, Eddie (February 11, 2005). "Asylum". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  33. ^ McNary, Dave (June 26, 2007). "Fishburne set to adapt 'Alchemist'". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  34. ^ Gardner, Chris (April 19, 2006). "'Camille' real for thesp pair". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  35. ^ Kay, Jeremy (November 3, 2007). "Danielak sells key territories on Rifkin-Eberts/A-Mark titles". Screen Daily. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  36. ^ Kaufmann, K (February 23, 2012). "Two Bunch Palms sold". The Desert Sun. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
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