The Last Tycoons: A History of Power and Betrayal

The Last Tycoons were a group of five friends who rose to the top of the business world in the 1980s. They were known for their lavish lifestyles and high-stakes deal-making.

Their friendship was forged in the fires of Harvard Business School, where they were classmates.

These five men - Dennis Kozlowski, Tom Hagan, Steve Friedman, Steve Schwartzman, and Peter Peterson - were ambitious and driven, with a shared goal of building their own empires.

Their paths to success were marked by hard work and strategic thinking, but also by a willingness to take risks.

The Last Tycoons tells an epic story of Wall Street's most storied investment banks, with a focus on Lazard's dominant partners.

Their gargantuan appetites and mercurial habits provide the unifying force behind the book's operatic melodramas, making it reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon.

Cohan's thoroughness, having interviewed over 100 current and former bankers, unearths a trove of colourful titbits, many quite racy.

The book's descriptions of the scheming, politicking, and general dysfunction at Lazard are illuminating.

Cohan not only knows where the bodies are buried but got a guided tour of the graveyard, making this a must-read for those interested in high-level gossip and the inner workings of Wall Street.

Here are some key facts about the book's impact:

Meet the Tycoons: a group of entrepreneurs who changed the face of business.

John D. Rockefeller was one of the most influential tycoons of all time, controlling over 90% of the US oil market by 1880.

Andrew Carnegie's story is a classic rags-to-riches tale, having immigrated to the US as a child and eventually becoming a steel magnate.

Cornelius Vanderbilt's business empire was built on the backs of his five wives and numerous children, with his son William Henry Vanderbilt inheriting a significant portion of the business.

J.P. Morgan's bank, J.P. Morgan & Co., was the primary financier of many of the tycoons' business ventures, earning him the nickname "Financier of the Tycoons".

The Last Tycoons has been making waves in the financial world, and it's not hard to see why. The book, written by William D. Cohan, has been praised by many as a must-read for anyone interested in the inner workings of Wall Street.

The book has won the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, a testament to its impact and importance.

Here are some quotes from notable publications that highlight the book's significance:

Lazard Frères was a Wall Street investment bank that stood apart from others for over a century. It was known for its discretion, secrecy, and subtle strategy.

The firm's "Great Men" were its key to success, including Felix Rohatyn, a financial genius who escaped Nazi-occupied France, and Michel David-Weill, an inscrutable French billionaire.

Lazard Frères was founded over 150 years ago and had a reputation for offering ultra-wealthy clients the wisdom of its "Great Men".

The bank's clients included some of the most powerful people in the world, and its executives were paid in the tens of millions of dollars.

Felix Rohatyn was a key figure in reshaping corporate America in the 1970s and 1980s, and he even saved New York City from bankruptcy.

However, his success was eventually overshadowed by the arrival of Steve Rattner, a former newspaper reporter who clashed violently with the old guard.

The internal strife between Rohatyn and Rattner was exacerbated by the manipulative tendencies of Michel David-Weill, who eventually relinquished operational control of the bank to Bruce Wasserstein.

Wasserstein's takeover of the bank was a clever move, as he was able to make himself billions in the process.