The last partnerships : inside the great Wall Street money dynasties

They laid the foundations of American finance and defined the American brand of capitalism. They bankrolled wars, were the impetus behind the building of the first transcontinental railroad system, and fueled a fledgling nation’s grandiose dreams of empire. S&M Allen, J. P. Morgan & Co., Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers...they were the great Wall Street partnerships, and for well over a century, through a combination of financial genius, political chicanery, and the audacity of Caesars, they wielded unprecedented influence over the business, financial, and political landscapes of a nation. The Last Partnerships combines rigorous scholarship with journalism at its best to present a panoramic history of the rise and fall of the great financial houses—from the “Yankee Bankers,” at the turn of the 19th century, up to Goldman Sachs’ historic IPO in 1999—tracing their origins, their successes and failures over the years, and the reasons for their ultimate demise. The Last Partnerships is must-reading for history buffs and everyone interested in the world of finance behind the business-page headlines sample.pdf -1 sterling.com -1 Welcome to Sterling Software -1 McGraw Hill - The Last Partnerships 0-07-136999-6.pdf 1 CONTENTS 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10 TIMELINE 12 INTRODUCTION 16 1. THE YANKEE BANKING HOUSES: CLARK DODGE AND JAY COOKE 24 2 “OUR CROWD”: THE SELIGMANS, LEHMAN BROTHERS, AND KUHN LOEB 55 3 WHITE SHOES AND RACEHORSES: BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN AND AUGUST BELMONT 96 4 CRASHED AND ABSORBED: KIDDER PEABODY AND DILLON READ 129 5 CORNER OF BROAD AND WALL: J. P. MORGAN AND MORGAN STANLEY 172 6 CORNER OF WALL AND MAIN: MERRILL LYNCH AND E. F. HUTTON 224 7 UNRAVELED BY GREED: SALOMON BROTHERS AND DREXEL BURNHAM 255 8 THE LAST HOLDOUTS: GOLDMAN SACHS AND LAZARD FRERES 297 CONCLUSION 329 NOTES 332 BIBLIOGRAPHY 340 INDEX 344 Long part of the Wall Street financial structure, the great partnerships of Wall Street ruled American finance from the turn of the 19th century with a combination of financial expertise, political power, and a mythical power that borrowed on true folklore. These money dynasties have disappeared from the financial landscape. While their place has been taken by the large well-capitalized securities firms of the 21st century, it is doubtful whether any 21st century firm could match their influence in helping develop American capitalism The Yankee banking houses : Clark Dodge and Jay Cooke "Our crowd" : the Seligmans, Lehman Brothers, and Kuhn Loeb White shoes and racehorses : Brown Brothers Harriman and August Belmont Crashed and absorbed : Kidder Peabody and Dillon Read Corner of Broad and Wall : J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley Corner of Wall and Main : Merrill Lynch and E.F. Hutton Unraveled by greed : Salomon Brothers and Drexel Burnham The last holdouts : Goldman Sacchs and Lazard Freres. "The Last Partnerships presents a panoramic history of America's great financial houses - from the lotteries and Yankee Bankers of the early 1800s through the IPOs and mergers of the late 20th century. No other book has examined these American financial legends in such intimate detail."--BOOK JACKET. This text takes the reader back inside the boardrooms of exclusive Wall Street partnerships where it discusses their influence, deals, successes and multi-million dollar losses over the years. And it examines the forces that made the dynasties the financial arbiters of the 19th and 20th centuries. This work covers the rise and fall of the great financial houses, from the "Yankee Bankers" at the turn of the 19th century, up to Goldman Sach's historic IPO in 1999, tracing their origins, their successes and failures over the years, and the reasons for their ultimate demise. THE SECURITIES BUSINESS had very humble beginnings in the early part of the nineteenth century.