After Armie Hammer first came to the attention of most people due to his performance in The Social Network, it didn’t take the actor too long to take Hollywood by storm. A talented actor with obvious good looks, it almost seemed like Hammer was born to become a major movie star. With that in mind, it shouldn’t take anyone by surprise that Hammer amassed an impressive fortune as a result of landing roles in a slew of blockbuster films.Even though it certainly seemed like Armie Hammer was destined for years of success in Hollywood, his career suddenly hit the skids amid scandalous headlines. Since then, Hammer has checked himself into treatment which also somehow has led to controversy since he reportedly is thriving in rehab. With that in mind, Hammer must be wondering how he can possibly turn his life around again. As it turns out, Hammer has a long family history to learn from since several of his relatives have dealt with massive scandals of their own.
Armie Hammer’s Scandalous Ancestors
Many years before Armie Hammer was even born, his family had its first brush with major controversy in 1919. That year, Armie’s great-great-grandfather Dr, Julius Hammer got himself in major trouble when he gave a Russian diplomat a way to end her pregnancy. Three years after the procedure, Julius’ patient lost her life and he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to three and a half to twelve years behind bars.
When Dr. Julius Hammer was sentenced to prison, his son Armand was in the process of trying to attain his own medical degree. Due to his father’s fate, Julius took his career in a new direction and wound up running his father’s other business, Allied Drug. By the time Armand passed away, he was so successful as a businessman that he was worth $800 million which is the equivalent of $1.6 billion in today’s money.
Of course, the fact that Armand Hammer became a titan of industry isn’t scandalous at all. However, the reason why Armand’s legacy is incredibly controversial is the allegations about the relationships that led to Armand’s business success.
According to a 2021 Vanity Fair article about the Hammer family’s history, the key to Armand’s success was the business he did with Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin. In fact, one of the last letters Lenin reportedly sent before his passing was to Stalin expressing “particular support” for Armand. On top of that, Lenin’s letter reportedly explained why Armie Hammer’s great-grandfather was important to the Soviet Union. “This is a small path to the American ‘business’ world and this path should be made use of in every way.”
Armie Hammer’s Scandalous Grandfather And Father
As the only child of Armand Hammer, Julian Hammer was born into a world of intrigue and scandal. Despite that, it could be argued that Julian actually managed to up the ante in terms of the Hammer family and controversy. In fact, according to Armie Hammer’s aunt Casey Hammer, Armand passed over his son Julian and left his empire and fortune to his grandson because “Julian caused too much trouble”.
Of course, there is a long history of heirs to massive fortunes misbehaving but when it comes to the trouble that Julian Hammer got into, his misdeeds were extremely serious. In 1955, Julian Hammer was celebrating his 26th birthday in his Los Angeles home. Unfortunately for one of the party guests, he would never leave Julian’s home alive. According to reports, Julian took the man’s life over an unpaid gambling debt and supposed passes the victim made at Hammer’s wife. According to reports, Armand gave a lawyer $50,000 in cash and before you know it, all of the charges against Julian were dropped.
According to Armie Hammer’s aunt, Casey Hammer, the actor’s grandfather did something that is completely revolting. In her self-published memoir “Surviving My Birthright”, Casey alleges that her father Julian abused her when she was a child. Furthermore, Casey claimed in that book that Julian also took advantage of other members of the Hammer family.
According to Armie Hammer’s aunt Casey Hammer, her father Julian Hammer’s bad behavior survived his father Armand Hammer’s passing. After all, Casey alleges that once Julian learned that Armand left him only $250,000 in his will, he threatened violence. In fact, Casey claims Julian threatened to take the lives of “everybody” in the family.
Even though Michael Hammer has never done anything as bad as his father, he has also become a controversial figure. For example, after Michael became the owner of the Knoedler Gallery, the business had to close after it was discovered that many of the paintings it sold were fakes. Michael has also been accused of using Knoedler Gallery’s accounts as his own piggy bank in a court proceeding. With that in mind, it is clear that Armie, his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, and his great-great-grandfather have all been wrapped up in scandals.