Which current/former banking CEO would you most want to have coffee with?
So WallStreetOasis had a poll on that topic and I was intrigued by the results of the poll.
Coming in at first place with 25% off the vote count was: Jamie Dimon (JPM)
With Lloyd Blankfein (GS), Richard Fuld (former Lehman Brothers) and Stephen A. Schwarzman (Blackstone) tying for second place with 17% votes each.
Personally, I voted for Hank Paulson cos if given the opportunity for a coffee chat with him, I'd really want to understand more about his role during the GFC, especially the conflict of interest 'claims' and whether if he looked back today, would he have taken a different approach.
How about you?
Who have you voted for and why?
I'm surprised DB's John Cryan is only at 3%. Would be fascinating to talk to him right now given the situation DB is in.
not a fan of turkish coffee though...
I'd want to sit down with DLJ. Doesn't matter to me which one, but I think it would be extremely interesting sitting down with them and pick their minds about what they've seen and where they see the markets going from their vantage points.
+SB
These guys left an unforgettable mark on the industry. Obligatory link to the famous DLJ memo:
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/files/DLJ%20Too%20Busy.pdf
Getting flashbacks to Monkey Business. DLJ did not fuck around.
There are so many old timers who are worth sitting down with, it's not even funny. WSO is generally so focused on the big current names that they lose out on how many amazing folks there who have seen the history of Wall Street pass the world by. I mean, I'd love to sit down with Felix Rohatyn, the former CEO of Lazard. He's got a hell of a story to tell (and if anyone on WSO isn't familiar with him, look him up - that's someone to learn from). Gerald Rosenfeldt, over at NYU, is another person I'd love to sit down with. He was a banker at Lazard and the former CEO of Rothschild USA. You talk about Salomon Brothers... and that's sitting down with John Merryweather, Lou Ranieri and the remaining Brain Trust. There's the man who built Shearson, who you all might know as the former CEO of Citigroup, Sandy Weill.
Rabble Rabble Rabble... Kids today...
Jonathan Gray. Cause I want to be him. Don't care that he's not CEO. Could happen some day though.
Wow dude, posting three discussion topics in 24 hours? Either you are really bored, or you are really thirsting for some bananas.
It's a reasonable topic, and it's not another college monkey asking about preftige. These discussions actually add new content to the forum, so I don't think we should be dicking on whoever is posting the topic.
You are entitled to your opinion that this topic adds "content", however I don't believe that copying and pasting a WSO poll question into a discussion topic is causing anyone to think critically.
Do they need to be alive? If not I'd probably take Nathan Mayer Rothschild or one of the other Rothschild o.g's.
"By the time an infected abscess caused his death in 1836, his personal net worth amounted to 0.62% of British national income.7 He had also secured the position of the Rothschilds as the preeminent investment bankers in Britain and Europe."
e.g. much better off than Gates relative to GDP
I don't know. If DickFuld " is giving a good portrayal of DF I think that would be an awkward coffee. Every picture or video I have seen on the DF makes me think he is pretty short tempered too. Who knows what 17% of poll respondents want to do over coffee with Dick Fuld?
John Gutfreund if he were still alive. Since he isn't, I'd happily do coffee with Mike Milken or Bob Diamond
Ken Lewis. That dude f@&ks
FTFY.
I second the vote for Felix Rohatyn. The man's career has had so many unique and unparalleled contributions to the field of finance. Plus, those who have read the lengthy book on Lazard ("The Last Tycoons") know that there are plenty of juicy stories in his life as well (see: alleged affair with Jackie O). Here's his wiki page if you want a quick read on some of his career: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Rohatyn
The man is 88 years old and still comes in to his office at 30 Rock multiple times a week. His mentor and predecessor, Andre Meyer, once called "brilliant but also a quintessential son of a bitch" is another name worth mentioning for this list.
I'd put Blankfein, Yellen, Fuld, Gross, Peter Lynch, and Dalio on my short list.
I don't know why Larry Fink is not in this list. The guy is a genius and is disrupting the industry.
Milken... Moelis
I think in general it would be cool to talk to people who were either in Drexel or DLJ back then.
Moelis cites Ayn Rand as one of his biggest inspirations in life and I think he's read Atlas Shrugged an incredible amount of times. Not a fan of hers, but Rand followers who view her as a near-religious figure always fascinate me.
Bogle would be interesting too - for the same reasons Fink is. Given the rise of passive, he would be interesting to sit down with
Quattrone is my "other"
I don't know why my name didn't come up :P
since when did we go from banking peeps to investors? If investors are fair game than a CA Prop 64 compliant sesh with Jeff Gundlach seems like the obvious choice...
SUrprised no one said Stumpf
Sage Kelly. And I'd ask if I could party with him
JD. And by coffee, I mean time in bed. :)
replace JD with blythe masters, I'm in
I once had the opportunity to be introduced to Joe Baratta and David Blitzer on an epic lunch. That hour and a half taught me more about life than four years in college. PS:- Super nontarget, and I was literally introduced to them by my contact (a BX Partner) as a hustler.
Bob Benmosche from Met Life and AIG. The guy took one of the largest insurance companies ever public, then built another one back up from ashes in the financial crisis. Rest in peace Bob.
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If any living or dead it would have to be Sidney Weinberg. If living, Bill Gross.
Do you really expect someone like Paulson would you give a true, sincere answer to a question like that one?
It sounds a bit naive to me...
It's an interesting question, albeit I think that if you actually had the chance, you wouldn't get much out of it because nowadays most of the stuff these guys say are scripted and so engrained in their everyday speech that you probably wouldn't even learn what you really wanted to know. I actually did have coffee with two of the guys you mentioned in your post and what I described above was exactly my experience. Don't get me wrong, it was fun and all, but at the end of the day I didn't get much out of it.
What I would really like to do is have a private dinner with Warren Buffett.
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