 In 1963 Armand Hammer's Occidental Petroleum acquired Leir's company "Interore SA", a phosphate mining and chemical trading multinational with operations in twenty-seven countries.Hammer's autobiography describes the meetings with Leir that led to this transaction, but included unflattering personal details about Leir that Leir later disputed.Another famous business associate of Leir's was Joseph Alioto, who served as legal counsel for Leir's business interests before becoming mayor of San Francisco in 1968.