Bruce Wasserstein, greatest banker of his generation, dead at 61
Filed under: People
Bruce Wasserstein, CEO of Lazard Ltd. (LAZ), died Wednesday afternoon in New York after being hospitalized Sunday night with an irregular heartbeat. Wasserstein's 30-year career in banking made him one of the wealthiest bankers in the world, with a net worth of $2.3 billion. And his reputation as the greatest of solitary strategists drove business leaders to seek him out to help him do their merger deals.
Wasserstein was born on Christmas Day, 1947, and his mother said he had Messiah potential. He entered the University of Michigan at 16, and then went to Harvard, where he earned a JD cum laude and and MBA with high distinction.
As an investment banker with First Boston in the 1980s, he became famous for bidding up the price of big deals for his clients. Bid-em-up Bruce guided Philip Morris Cos.' $13 billion bid for Kraft Inc. in 1988, KKR's $31.4 billion offer for RJR Nabisco in 1989, and the $15.7 billion merger of Time Inc. and Warner Bros. in 1990 -- which formed what ultimately became AOL Time Warner, parent company of this web site. He started a bank, Wasserstein Perella, and sold it in 2001 for $1.56 billion.
After the sale of Wasserstein Perella, Michel David-Weill hired Wasserstein to run Lazard, which Wasserstein took public in 2005. Regrettably for Lazard shareholders, hushed reports surfaced in 2006 that Wasserstein had serious health problems -- potentially related to a heart condition -- which the company did not disclose publicly. News of his hospitalization this weekend was saddening, though not surprising.
Wasserstein, thrice-divorced, was married this year to Angela Chao. He had three children with his second wife, Chris, and two with his third wife, Claude.
Wall Street has lost a giant -- and Lazard should have let the world know in 2006 how tenuous that giant's health was.
Editor's note: Peter Cohan has long worried about Wasserstein's health and wondered if Lazard should disclose more information to shareholders. He first reported on rumors that Wasserstein was ill in July, 2006 on BloggingStocks. You can read more about Wasserstein's accomplishments from M&A expert Tom Taulli at BloggingStocks.Peter Cohan is a management consultant, Babson professor, and author of eight books including You Can't Order Change. Follow him on Twitter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-14-2009 @ 6:48PM
David said...
All the planning, cheating, stealing and for what. His family can spend his ill gotten gains.
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10-15-2009 @ 1:04PM
David said...
Wow ... almost every deal, beginning with the AOL/Time Warner debackle, has fallen flat on it's face or is drowning in the debt he helped pile on. I'll say he was good ... good at lining his pockets at the expense of everyone else.
10-14-2009 @ 7:25PM
willcorde said...
if only thet all had died ...one can only wish
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10-14-2009 @ 7:31PM
brek said...
A little negative on the coments aren't we? I had never heard of Mr. Wasserstein, but let's give the guy some credit for his accomplishments. He got himself educated and went on to success in the financial world. That doesn't mean he was a crook just cause he was successful. Just cause someone has wealth doesn't mean they stole it. Yes, the system is corrupt, but come on people.
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10-14-2009 @ 8:35PM
Joe Turner said...
HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS ?? FOR EVERY DAMN DOLLAR HE SCAMMED OFF SOMEONE ELSE, THERE IS A PERSON WHO IS SHORT OF CASH AND LIVING LESS WELL !
I RATE BANKERS AS LOWER THAN USED CAR SALESMEN OR BAD LAWYERS ON THE ETHICS SCALE.
WHEREVER YOU FIND A SUPER RICH GUY, YOU WILL FIND A TRAIL OF DEBRIS OF FALLEN VICTIMS BEHIND HIM.
10-14-2009 @ 7:45PM
W. C. Peterson said...
"Bid 'em Up, Bruce", eh? In other words he created debt where there was no value. No doubt the 'principals' of those deals pocketed a lot of the difference. I'm supposed to admire that kind of rip-off? As far as I'm concerned, AOL was a nuch better ISP before the TimeWarner deal. Rest in Peace, Mr. Wasserstein. Maybe when the world regains their senses, they won't look back on you quite so severely.
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10-14-2009 @ 11:37PM
paul koelling said...
You are absolutely right. He was a leader in creating the manufacturing of wealth out of nothing leading us from the manufacturing of things that bring true wealth. We were once the leaders of production of steel and other goods. Now we are just the leader of printing worthless paper money.
10-14-2009 @ 8:04PM
peter said...
messiah potential? Wow. Kravis? Weill, Blankfein? Madoff and so forth and so on? Would there be a chief MESSIAH named Obama? The first Messiah got crucified. Hint, hint.
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10-14-2009 @ 8:26PM
Nate said...
Peter, this could be considered a thread to the secret service, landing your ignorant ass in prison. Be careful, stupid conservative boy.
10-16-2009 @ 12:44AM
hope said...
Peter, YOU are what is wrong with America--racists and right wing bigots just like yourself who hate, hate and hate some more.
10-14-2009 @ 8:19PM
dave said...
61, lived large. Never got a chance to enjoy it. Realy. RIP dickhead
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10-14-2009 @ 8:46PM
peter said...
guess i am headed to a gulag nate. soviet style mind you.
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10-14-2009 @ 9:02PM
Bill said...
The Bible is still true, and the source of ultimate wisdom..."What profiteth it a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul." No one knows anyone else's spiritual condition, and Bruce may have been ready to meet God, but to die before due time is usually (but not always) an indication of failure somewhere along the way to seek proper balance and to plan for the future in ways other than financial. May God bless those who loved him who are left behind, especially the children.
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10-15-2009 @ 2:01PM
Albert Anastasia said...
After reading Barbarians at The Gate, Wasserstein was a true leech/crook......very appropriate BID EM UP BRUCE
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10-14-2009 @ 10:43PM
chedar888 said...
Irregular heartbeat? May have overworked.
Anyway, you can not carry with you the millions you got in this world when you die. It is the legacy you leave in this world that is important either good or bad.
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10-14-2009 @ 10:50PM
gordo said...
another in the long line of ivan boeski, mike milken, bernie madof. What these people did not steal was not nailed down. burn baby burn.
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10-14-2009 @ 10:50PM
jake said...
It was caused when he looked in the rear view mirror at the trail of destruction and wrecked lives he is responsible for. Good riddance.
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10-14-2009 @ 11:35PM
don said...
you get that rich without invention you have to be a crook he couldnt take it with though and it couldnt save him either
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10-15-2009 @ 4:50AM
Mike said...
Wow, some really heartwarming comments.
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10-15-2009 @ 6:27AM
Gary Blake said...
The comments about Mr. Wasserstein wouldn't be vicious if the people who wrote them knew his sister, Wendy. Wendy, who I met only once, was a class act--talented, lovable, joyous. I have trouble believing that her high-achieving brother was a son of a gun just because he made a lot of money. I'd be reluctant to link him with Madoff and others. If you must link him, link him with his sister who, apparently, adored him.
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