63 Geithner’s beginnings: Gary Weiss, “The Man Who Saved (or Got Suckered by) Wall Street,” Condé Nast Portfolio, June 2008; Yalman Onaran and Michael McKee, “In Geithner We Trust Eludes Treasury as Market Fails to Recover,” Bloomberg News, February 25, 2009; Daniel Gross, “The Un-Paulson,” Slate, November 21, 2008.
63 published a number of incendiary stories: Peter S. Canellos, “Conservatives Sour on ‘Rebel Media,’ ” Boston Globe, April 19, 2007.
63 Geithner played conciliator: Onaran and McKee, “In Geithner We Trust,” Bloomberg News.
63 recommendation from the dean at Johns Hopkins: George Packard, then dean of Johns Hopkins, recommended Geithner to Brent Scowcroft, then vice chairman of Kissinger Associates, which led to his research job. Deepak Gopinath, “New York Fed’s Geithner Hones Skills for Wall Street,” Bloomberg Markets, April 22, 2004.
63 a very favorable impression on the former secretary of state: “He doesn’t try to walk into a room and take it over,” K issinger once said about Geithner. “He prevails with the power of his arg ument.” Candace Taylor, “Quiet NY Fed Chief Makes Loud Moves,” New York Sun, March 31, 2008.
64 “The Committee to Save the World ”: Time’s headline for its February 15, 1999, cover, which featured the faces of Treasury secretary Robert Rubin, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, and Treasury deputy Larry Summers.
64 On Thanksgiving Day, Geithner called Summers: Jon Hilsenrath and Deborah Solomon, “Longtime Crisis Manager Pleases Wall Street, Mystifies Some Democrats,” Wall Street Journal, November 22, 2008.
65 “Tim’s controlled, consistent, with very good ground strokes”: Onaran and McKee, “In Geithner We Trust,” Bloomberg News.
65 New York Fed is the only one whose president is a permanent member: “The Federal Open Market Committee includes seven members of the Board of Governors and five Reserve Bank presidents. While the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York serves on a continuous basis, the other 11 Reserve presidents serve rotating one-year terms beginning January 1 of each year.” http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/.
65 the annual salary of the New York Fed president: The Fed chairman’s salary in 2008 was $191,300. http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqbog.htm.
65 “These changes appear to have made the financial system”: Geithner, from his “Remarks at the Global Association of Risk Professionals 7th Annual Risk Management Convention & Exhibition in New York City, February 28, 2006.” http://www.ny.frb.org/newsevents/speeches/2006/gei060228.html.
66 his deputy, Steel, would be there in his place: “I very much appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to represent Secretary Paulson and the U.S. Treasury Department,” Steel said on April 3, 2008. “As you know, Secretary Paulson is on a long-scheduled trip to China.” Steel’s full speech is available at http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp904.htm.
67 underwriting more than 40 percent of all mortgages: Bethany McLean, “Fannie Mae’s Last Stand,” Vanity Fair, February 2009; Carol D. Leonnig, “How HUD Mortgage Policy Fed the Crisis,” Washington Post, June 10, 2008.
67 “Their securities move like water”: Justin Fox, “Hank Paulson,” Time, August 11, 2008.
67 The two men had known each other since 1976: Brendan Murray and John Brinsley, “Paulson’s Surrogate Steel Sees ‘Initial’ Progress in Markets,” Bloomberg News, March 19, 2008.
67 Steel came from a modest background: Rick Rothacker, Stella M. Hopk ins, and Christina Rexrode, “Wachovia’s New CEO Is Pro in Crisis Control,” Charlotte Observer, July 13, 2008.
69 “Was this a justified rescue”: Dodd’s question as well as succeeding statements from Bernanke, Steel, and Geithner are taken directly from official Fed transcripts from the first half of the hearing. See “Panel I of a Hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee,” Federal News Service, April 3, 2008.
71 “Buying a house is not the same as buying a house on fire”: When asked about the logic behind Bear’s $2-a-share price, Dimon said: “I tell people that buying a house is not the same as buying a house on fire.” “Panel II of a Hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee,” Federal News Service, April 3, 2008.
71 cancel the office’s newspaper subscriptions to cut costs: Dimon “obsesses over spending at the granular level,” so much so that he once told a vice president, who was listing the company’s print subscriptions, “You’re a businessman; pay for your own Wall Street Journal.” See Ken Kurson, “Jamie Dimon Wants Respect,” Money, February 2002.
71 “has suddenly become the most talked about”: Eric Dash, “Rallying the House of Morgan,” New York Times, March 18, 2008.
71 “quickly becoming Wall Street’s banker of last resort”: Robin Sidel, “In a Crisis, It’s Dimon Once Again,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2008.
71 “All hail Jamie Dimon!” Andrew Bary, “The Deal—Rhymes With Steal—of a Lifetime,” Barron’s, March 24, 2008.
72 “I want to be rich”: Leah Nathans Spiro, “Ticker Tape in the Genes,” BusinessWeek, October 21, 1996.
72 “I think you’re wrong!” Shawn Tully, “In This Corner! The Contender,” Fortune, March 29, 2006.
73 which his mother showed to Weilclass="underline" Leah Nathans Spiro, “Smith Barney’s Whiz K id,” BusinessWeek, October 21, 1996.
73 “Can I show it to people here?” As Monica Langley reported: “Sandy liked the paper enough that he sent Jamie a note: ‘Terrific paper. Can I show it to people here?’ ” Langley, Tearing Down the Walls, 50.
73 “I won’t pay you as much ”: Ibid., 74.
73 “Jews are going to take over American Express!”: Ibid., 71.
73 watching Weill sleep off his martini lunches: Ibid., 103.
73 the $1.65 billion acquisition of Primerica: Robert J. Cole, “2 Leading Financiers Will Merge Companies in $1.65 Billion Deal,” New York Times, August 30, 1988.
74 A $1.2 billion purchase of Shearson: Dana Wechsler Linden, “Deputy Dog Becomes Top Dog,” Forbes, October 25, 1993.
74 “You’re a fucking asshole!”: Langley, Tearing Down the Walls, 201.
74 $4 billion deal for Travelers: Greg Steinmetz, “Primerica, Travelers Seal Merger Pact; Takeover May Speed Insurer’s Recovery,” Wall Street Journal, September 24, 1993.
74 “Promote her”: Langley, Tearing Down the Walls, 241.
74 “Now we can be father and daughter again”: Ibid., 254.
74 the $83 billion merger with Citicorp: Announced as a $70-billion merger Monday morning, by the day’s end Travelers had soared 18 percent and Citicorp 27 percent, bringing the merger’s value up to $83 billion. Langley, Tearing Down the Walls, 289-93. Michael Siconolfi, “Citicorp, Travelers Group to Combine in Biggest-Ever Merger,” Wall Street Journal, April 7, 1998.
75 “It’s bad enough how you treat me”: Langley, Tearing Down the Walls, 314.
75 “Don’t you ever turn your back on me while I’m talking!”: Roger Lowenstein, “Alone at the Top,” New York Times Magazine, August 27, 2000.
75 summoned Dimon to the corporate compound in Armonk: Timothy L. O’Brien and Peter Truell, “Downfall of a Peacemaker,” New York Times, November 3, 1998.