The Last of the Imperious Rich

Lehman Brothers, 1844-2008

Peter Chapman

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Paperback

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English

Portfolio Press
01 May 2012

Biography: business & industry; Economics & Business; Banking

"On September 11, 1844, Henry Lehman arrived in New York City on a boat from Germany. Soon after, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where he and his brother Emanuel established a modest cotton brokering firm that would come to be called Lehman Brothers.

On September 15, 2008, Dick Fuld, the last CEO of Lehman Brothers, filed for corporate bankruptcy amid one of the worst financial crises in American history. After 164 years, one of the largest and most respected investment banks in the world was gone, leaving everyone wondering, ""How could this have happened?""

Peter Chapman, an editor and writer forThe Financial Times, answers this question by exploring the complete history of Lehman Brothers between those two historic Septembers. He takes us back to its early days as a cotton broker in Alabama, and then to its glory days as one of the leading corporate financiers in America. He also provides an intimate portrait of the people who ran Lehman over the decades-from Henry Lehman, the founder, to Bobbie Lehman, who led the company into the world of radio, motion pictures, and air travel in first part of the 20th century, to Dick Fuld, who allowed it to morph into a dealer of shoddy securities.

Throughout his account of this imperiously rich firm, Chapman examines the impact Lehman Brothers had not only on American finance but also on American life. As a major backer of companies like Pan American Airlines, Macy's, and RKO, Lehman helped lead the country into major new industries and helped support some of its most intrepid entrepreneurs.

He then shows how, starting in the 1980s, Lehman's increased focus on short-term gain investments led the firm down the dangerous path that would eventually lead to its demise.

In the end, the story of Lehman Brothers is not only the story of a truly important American company but a cautionary tale of what happens when leaders lose sight of their core mission in their quest for something too good to be true.

Praise forThe Last of the Imperious Rich-

""Thought provoking and illuminating"" -The New York Times

""Chapman has succeeded in holding up a mirror to America's past - and what its future might hold"" - Bloomberg

On September 11, 1844, Henry Lehman arrived in New York City on a boat from Germany. Soon after, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where he and his brother Emanuel established a modest cotton brokering firm that would come to be called Lehman Brothers.

On September 15, 2008, Dick Fuld, the last CEO of Lehman Brothers, filed for corporate bankruptcy amid one of the worst financial crises in American history. After 164 years, one of the largest and most respected investment banks in the world was gone, leaving everyone wondering, ""How could this have happened?""

Peter Chapman, an editor and writer forThe Financial Times, answers this question by exploring the complete history of Lehman Brothers between those two historic Septembers. He takes us back to its early days as a cotton broker in Alabama, and then to its glory days as one of the leading corporate financiers in America. He also provides an intimate portrait of the people who ran Lehman over the decades-from Henry Lehman, the founder, to Bobbie Lehman, who led the company into the world of radio, motion pictures, and air travel in first part of the 20th century, to Dick Fuld, who allowed it to morph into a dealer of shoddy securities.

Throughout his account of this imperiously rich firm, Chapman examines the impact Lehman Brothers had not only on American finance but also on American life. As a major backer of companies like Pan American Airlines, Macy's, and RKO, Lehman helped lead the country into major new industries and helped support some of its most intrepid entrepreneurs.

He then shows how, starting in the 1980s, Lehman's increased focus on short-term gain investments led the firm down the dangerous path that would eventually lead to its demise.

In the end, the story of Lehman Brothers is not only the story of a truly important American company but a cautionary tale of what happens when leaders lose sight of their core mission in their quest for something too good to be true.

Praise forThe Last of the Imperious Rich-

""Thought provoking and illuminating"" -The New York Times

""Chapman has succeeded in holding up a mirror to America's past - and what its future might hold"" - Bloomberg"

By: Peter Chapman
Imprint: Portfolio Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 304g
ISBN: 9781591844327
ISBN 10: 1591844320
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 May 2012
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Last of the Imperious Rich: Lehman Brothers, 1844-2008

...the historical parallels that the author provides are often thought- provoking and illuminating. -The New York Times ...a remarkable story of what Lehman once was and a somber story about what it became. -FrumForum Chapman, financial reporter and editor, weaves a fascinating story framed in the history of the times during which Lehman Brothers helped shape financial markets. -Booklist The Last of the Imperious Rich is an excellent, fast-paced account of the rise and fall of Lehman Brothers. Peter Chapman captures the firm's high and low moments with admirable clarity, especially the hubris that led to its ultimate demise. A valuable addition to Wall Street history. -Charles Geisst, author of Collateral Damaged and Wall Street: A History The Last of the Imperious Rich is a gripping financial history. Peter Chapman has connected the dots from the unlikely beginnings of Henry Lehman in antebellum Alabama to the adventures of Bobbie Lehman on Wall Street to the domineering, and ultimately destructive, rule by Dick Fuld. Chapman's story is an object lesson in the dangers of aggressive short-term thinking in finance. Lehman's journey from helping companies like Campbell Soup to perpetrating modern financial schemes is a parable of how the markets went wrong. -Frank Partnoy, George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Finance, University of San Diego; author of The Match King