172 “prelife crisis”: Ibid.
173 taking a job as a salesman of gold coins and bars, she cried: Ibid. Also see “Laura Jacobs Engaged to Lloyd C. Blankfein,” New York Times, May 15, 1983.
173 the firm acquired J. Aron in late October 1981: On October 29, 1981, Goldman Sachs announced its acquisition of J. Aron & Company for an undisclosed amount (at the time industry experts said it was “slightly more than $100 million”). H. J. Maidenberg, “Goldman Sachs Buys Big Commodity Dealer,” New York Times, October 30, 1981.
173 they pounded their desks with their fists and threw their: Endlich, Goldman Sachs, 96.
173 “You can call yourself contessa, if you want”: Bethany McLean, “Rising Star: Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs,” Fortune, February 6, 2006.
173 Winkelman first noticed Blankfein: Craig, “How One Executive Reignited,” Wall Street Journal.
174 “We’ve never seen it work to put”: Ellis, The Partnership, 266.
174 structuring a trade that allowed a Muslim client to obey the Koran’s proscriptions: Craig, “How One Executive Reignited,” Wall Street Journal.
174 Winkelman was crushed when he was passed over for Corzine: Adrian Cox and George Stein, “Winkelman, Denied Top Goldman Job, Seeks to Fix Refco,” Bloomberg News, October 24, 2005.
174 he announced that he had selected Blankfein as his replacement: Jenny Anderson, “Blankfein Next in Line at Goldman,” New York Post, December 19, 2003; Kate Kelly, Greg Ip, and Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, “For NYSE, New CEO Could Be Just the Start,” Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2003.
174 “Legally, we would be buying Morgan”: Ellis, The Partnership, 639.
175 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: Barbara A. Rehm, “Commerce, a Reform Gem, in Fed ’s Hands,” American Banker, November 9, 2000.
177 collateral dispute with AIG: Serena Ng, “Goldman Confirms $6 Billion AIG Bets,” Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2009.
177 Dmitry Medvedev had recently been elected to succeed him: Medvedev was elected Russia’s president on Sunday, March 2, 2008, after Putin had officially endorsed him in December. Peter Finn, “Putin’s Chosen Successor, Medvedev, Elected in Russia; Power-Sharing Is Main Focus After a Crushing Win,” Washington Post, March 3, 2008.
178 visiting the Persian Gulf states; attending the Group of Eight meeting of finance ministers in Osaka: Paulson’s trip began at the end of May with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In Abu Dhabi, he delivered a speech on the importance of open investment and then headed off to Osaka, where he met with Japanese finance minister Fukushiro Nukaga, before the G8 conference began. “Treasury Secretary Paulson to Travel to the Middle East,” Department of the Treasury Press Releases/Statements, May 28, 2008; “Nukaga, Paulson Set to Meet Ahead of G-8 Finance Ministers’ Talks,” Japan Economic Newswire, June 13, 2008.
178 “To address the perception that some institutions”: “Remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. on the U.S., the World Economy and Markets before the Chatham House,” July 2, 2008. See http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1064.htm.
179 Spaso House: See moscow.usembassy.gov/spaso.html.
179 private sessions with Medvedev and Putin: David Lawder, “Paulson in Russia to Meet with Medvedev, Putin,” Reuters, June 29, 2008.
179 “best practices”: “Putin—No Sovereign Wealth Fund in Russia Yet,” Reuters, June 30, 2008.
CHAPTER TEN
181 rehire Michael Gelband and Alex Kirk: See Susanne Craig, “Gelband, Kirk Rejoin Lehman in Shake-Up,” Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2008; Jed Horowitz, “Lehman’s New President McDade Brings in His Own Team,” Dow Jones, June 25, 2008.
182 classmates at the University of Michigan Business Schooclass="underline" Susanne Craig, “Lehman Vet Grapples with the Firm’s Repair,” Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2008.
182 on Little St. Simons Island: According to Paulson’s calendar, he left Dulles Airport at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, July 4, 2008, headed for Georgia, where he would “remain overnight” for three nights.
183 Paulsons bought up three quarters of the ten-thousand-acre property: Mary Jane Credeur, “Paulson’s Georgia Investment Rises as Blind Trust Becomes Joke,” Bloomberg News, January 14, 2008.
183 “The U. S. economy is … facing a trio of headwinds”: From Paulson’s speech in London on the U.S., the world economy and markets, July 2, 2008. See http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1064.htm.
183 brother, Richard Paulson, worked as a fixed-income salesman in Lehman’s Chicago office: Anita Raghavan, “Paulson Brothers on Either Side of Lehman Divide,” Forbes, September 12, 2008.
184 reporting a $708 million loss: After restating its first quarterly loss since 2001 (it had mistakenly reported $393 million), Wachovia ousted Ken Thompson as chairman and—a month later—as CEO. See David Mildenberg and Hugh Son, “Wachovia Ousts Thompson on Write-downs, Share Plunge,” Bloomberg News, June 2, 2008.
184 flown back home on a private chartered jet to Dulles Airport: According to his calendar, Paulson left Georgia at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, July 7, arriving back in Washington, D.C., at 3:42 p.m.
184 Freddie tumbled as much as 30 percent: On Monday, July 7, 2008, Fannie Mae shares fell $3.04, or 16.2 percent, to $15.74, their lowest since 1992, while Freddie stock was down $2.59, or 17.9 percent, to $11.91, its lowest since 1993. See James R. Hagerty and Serena Ng, “Mortgage Giants Take Beating on Fears over Loan Defaults,” Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2008.
184 Fannie shares slid 16.2 percent: Ibid.
184 wrote that revised accounting rules might require Fannie and Freddie to raise: Harting Report released on Monday, July 7, 2008. Aaron Lucchetti, “How Fannie/Freddie Selldown Went Down,” Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2008.
185 “the closest thing I’ve seen to a holy war”: In February 2007, Paulson told the House of Representatives’ budget committee: “I feel very strongly that we need a regulator that’s independent, got more muscle, and a number of other changes… . I also know people feel very strongly on both sides of this issue. I’ve never witnessed anything quite like this. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a holy war.” “US House to Have GSE Bill by End-Mar,” Reuters, February 7, 2007.
186 “we are the equivalent of a Federal Reserve system for housing”: Franklin Raines, as reported by David A. Vise, “The Financial Giant That’s in Our Midst,” Washington Post, January 15, 1995.
186 55 percent of the $11 trillion U.S. mortgage market: Shannon D. Harrington and Dawn Kopecki, “Fannie, Freddie Downgraded by Derivatives Traders,” Bloomberg, July 9, 2008.
186 “In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending”: Steven A. Holmes, “Fannie Mae Eases Credit to Aid Mortgage Lending,” New York Times, September 30, 1999.
186 “[We] always won, we took no prisoners”: Mudd wrote this in a note to Franklin Raines in November 2004. See James Tyson, “Fannie, Freddie Retreat as Mortgage Bonds Mutate,” Bloomberg News, September 6, 2006.
187 Bush administration lowered the amount of capitaclass="underline" Damian Paletta and James R. Hagerty, “U.S. Puts Faith in Fannie, Freddie,” Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2008.
187 “Congress ought to recognize”: Dawn Kopecki and Shannon D. Harrington, “Fannie, Freddie Tumble on Bailout Concern, UBS Cut,” Bloomberg, July 10, 2008.
188 “You’re not going to like this conversation”: Portions of this exchange, including Fuld having heard “a lot of noise,” were first reported by Kate Kelly and Susanne Craig, “Goldman Is Queried About Bear’s Fall,” Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2008.