The Devil's Casino (35 page)

Kelly, Kate. 2009.
Street fighters: The last 72 hours of Bear Stearns, the toughest firm on Wall Street
. New York: Viking Penguin.

McDonald, Duff. 2009.
The last man standing: The ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase
. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Sorkin, Andrew Ross. 2009.
Too big to fail: The inside story of how Wall Street fought to save the financial system—and themselves
. New York: Viking Penguin.

Tett, Gillian, 2008.
Fool’s gold: How the bold dream of a small tribe at J.P. Morgan was corrupted by Wall Street greed and unleashed a catastrophe
. New York: The Free Press.

Wessel, David. 2009.
In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s war on the Great Panic
. New York: Crown.

This is my first book. As I wrote in the Prologue, I had no idea when I started it that the material I would find would make this story so extraordinarily compelling and such a delight to research and tell.

I also had no idea of what it takes to write a book. I had no idea of the hours required, not just mine but other people’s time; of the vast number of patient interviewees who sometimes were kind enough to put up with a second or even third grilling, and also what a nuisance a book is to the people in your immediate orbit.

Where to begin the thanks?

First, to the men and women of Lehman for sharing your stories, some of them funny, some of them tragic, and in some cases extremely personal and tinged with extraordinary loss. Especial thanks to Tom Tucker and Lara and Mary Anne Pettit for sharing memories that I feel privileged to have been told. I wish I had known Chris Pettit. After writing this book I almost feel that I did.

Many of you—and you know who you are—gave me a great deal of your time but wish to stay anonymous.

Others who are on the record and to whom I am indebted for their time and valuable experience and insights include: Peter Solomon, Robert Shapiro, Robert Genirs, Peregrine Moncreiffe, Brad Jack, Jeremy Isaacs, Roger Nagioff, Fred Segal, James Vinci, Ronald Gallatin, J. Tomlinson Hill, Peter A. Cohen, Jeffrey Solomon, James Roper, Steve Carlson, Paul Newmark, Craig Schiffer, Cliff Goldman, Doug Ireland, Bob Cagnina, Tom Russo, David Goldfarb, Bob Millard, Alex Kirk, Mel Shaftel, Todd Jorn, Steve Berkenfeld, Andrew Gowers, Marna Ringel, Nancy Hament, Marianne Rasmussen, Brian Riley, Kim Sullivan, Angela Sacco, Madeleine Antoncic, and the inimitable and funny Karin Jack.

Especial thanks go to John Cecil for your never-ending patience. It’s one thing when an interview that’s one hour long has to be redone; quite another when it’s four hours.

Outside of Lehman, too, a huge thank you to Robert “Bob” Steel for your patience, your guidance, and your introductions. You were the person I could always go to if I had a query, and you are a great judge of character.

Thanks also to Bob Diamond, who was one of those who kindly got grilled twice and was most gracious about it. Also I am indebted to the BarCap press team: particularly Michael O’Looney, Kerrie-Ann Cohen, and Peter Truell. Also thank you to Archie Cox for your time.

To a particularly good-humored senior member of the U.S. Federal Reserve: thank you.

Especial thanks have to go to the former U.S. Treasury secretary, Henry Merritt Paulson Jr. for your thoughtful reflections on what became the nightmare of your life.

So, too, thanks to your trusty lieutenant and the dad of dads, Steven Shafran.

I would not have met either Hank or “Shaf” had it not been for the clever, beautiful, and kind Clara Bingham and also the inestimable Michele Davis to whom Clara introduced me.

As for the rest of the former Treasury team, they know who they are—they want to stay in the shadows, but thank you.

Likewise I must thank John Murray and Hector Sants at the Financial Services Authority. Also Catherine Macleod in Alastair Darling’s office. And Richard Paulson, Hank ‘s brother.

Also, H. Rodgin Cohen of Sullivan & Cromwell, Warren Buffett, and David Einhorn.

Other people who were essential in giving advice or pointing me in useful directions were: Peter Melhado, Hugh Warrender, Bill Cohan, Jamie Niven, Michael Thomas, Steve Rattner, Peter Rose, Jeffrey Leeds, Cliff Brokaw, William von Mueffling, Richard “follow the money” Plepler, Rob Wiesenthal, Alan Schwartz, Mort Janklow, Donald Trump, John Josephson, Joe Perella, Michael Thompson, Betsy Schaper, Gerald Corrigan, Don Marron, Charlie Ayres, Stephen Rubenstein, Rob Speyer, Jesse Angelo, Lachlan Murdoch, Robert Thomson, Bryan Burrough, Michael Shnayerson, Michael Jackson, Martin Ivens, Nicolas Berggruen, Larry Creel, Bill Detwiler, Jim Burtson, Gerry Pasciuccio, and Ed Frost. And not for any information, because she is immune to my charm and wouldn’t give me any, but for continually reminding me that I must, above all, be accurate—my former college roommate and longtime friend, Blythe Masters.

Outside of what was Lehman and Wall Street, there exists, as we know, a different world—one that I haven’t been in very much recently, but without some of the people in it, this book could not have happened.

Graydon Carter, my editor in chief at
Vanity Fair
, my counselor, and my friend. Nothing is ever possible without you and your encouragement. Also at
VF
, Doug Stumpf, my patient, clever editor, who has mentored me for years. Then: Chris Bateman, Stan Friedman, Chris Garrett, Evgenia Peretz, Aimee Bell, David Friend, Jon Kelly, Claire Howorth, David Foxley, John Connolly, Jeannie Rhodes, Susan White, Katherine Bang, Jeannie Rhodes, Michael Wolff, David Margolick, Louise Grunwald, Nina Munk, SaraJane Hoare, Francesca Stanfil, Beth Kseniak, Sara Switzer, Lizzie Hurlbut, Robert Walsh, Michelle Ciarrocca, Brian Gallagher, and Michael Hogan, thank you for your support in the past year. Also to the rest of the staff and contributors: So many of you have helped me in different ways over nine years. You are quite simply the best at what you do. Thank you all. John Banta, thank you especially for your good advice. Without it, I would never have found my lifeline for this book: Barry Harbaugh.

Barry, we both know it would take another book to describe the journey we took together. (In all seriousness, a sitcom writer actually would have some good material if they knew the real story. I think we might even be able to push
Gossip Girl
aside!)

Only you and I know how hard you worked, putting in time you didn’t have with remarkable good humor and tremendous skill. I look forward to reading your first book. I know it will be awesome, just like you.

Thank you also for leading me to the most diligent and inspiring fact-checking team a writer could have: Ryan Bradley, a wordsmith
sans pareil
who also put himself out greatly during the holidays; Maureen “Moe” Tkacik—whom
CNBC
should hire right now! Cailey Hall, Stacey Breaks—and two other people who need singling out.

First is Bob Roe, editor extraordinaire. No one moves as fast and well as you!

Second is Emma Givens, my assistant. Emma is one of those assistants to whom the term has no narrow meaning. She is my friend, my organizer—not just my fact-checker, but my life-checker. Thanks to Emma, there was food on my family’s table on December 25. This author had a deadline of December 27 and had forgotten all about grocery stores closing.

Then the John Wiley & Sons team: Pamela van Giessen, Emilie Herman, and Mary Daniello, the editors from hell (oh, those deadlines) but also heaven. Emilie: thank you for surviving the crash through the holidays. We made it! Thank you to the others in marketing and publicity: Jocelyn Cordova-Wagner, Sharon Polese, Nancy Rothschild, Deborah Guichelaar, Lucas Wilk, Julie Attrill, Louise Holden, and Emma Knott. As I write this I am only starting to work with some of you and already you are making your presence felt wonderfully.

As for my agent, Andy McNicol at William Morris Endeavor, you rock. And a huge thank you to the very clever Elizabeth Wiatt, for insisting I see her husband Jim when I was in Los Angeles two years ago, and for leading me to
WME
, Andy, and an incredible team.

Also, thanks to my superb publicists in America: Sandi Mendelson and David Kass; in Toronto: Jennifer Bassett and Candice Best; and in the United Kingdom: Dotti Irving, Mark Hutchinson, and Hannah Blake. Thanks to Julian Niccolini, Alex von Bidder, Rachel Bellon, Bitsy Williams, Nikki Burg, and Tori Howarth for helping me to launch the book.

Ken Auletta: thank you for cheering me on every time we met. You have no idea how much it buoyed me up and how excited I was that you would blurb it. I am honored to follow in your footsteps. You set the bar very high. You always do.

Arianna Huffington, Amanda Foreman, and Simon Sebag Montefiore: thank you for also reading galleys, blurbing the book, encouraging me, and making me feel sure I was writing a book people would want to read; and thank you also for critiquing.

Then there are the thanks to personal friends who were there for me in a variety of ways—on both sides of the Atlantic. Particularly encouraging and helpful for part or all of the way through were: Dan Abrams, Celerie Kemble, Boykin Curry, Len and Emily Blavatnik, Reg Barton, Frances Osborne, Paola Windsor (who lived part of it!), Catherine Ostler, Pamela Gross and Jimmy Finkelstein, Santa Sebag Montefiore, Andrew Roberts and Susan Gilcrhist, Vivi Nevo, Nick Brown, Sarah Murdoch, Dan Peres and Sarah Wynter, Carolina Zapf, Wil Surratt, Fernanda Niven, Catherine Smith, Clemence von Mueffling, Lea Brokaw, Dini von Mueffling and David Richenthal, Stephen and Cathy Graham, Anna Scott Carter, June Black, Bruce and Alex Schnitzer, Peggy Siegal, Jonathan Foreman, Plum Sykes and Toby Rowland, Euan Rellie and Lucy Sykes, Dorrit Morley, Lela Rose, Gretchen Rubin, Molly Jong-Fast, Charles and Dafna Bonas, Anne McElvoy, Aby Rosen and Samantha Boardman, Ariadne and Mario Calvo-Platero, Mungo and Sandy Meehan, Steven Fox, Tina Brown, Jennifer Creel, Susan and Hadley Nagel, Ross and Susie Johnson, Ryan Biracree, Chloe Crespi, Saito Chichi, Kieran McKenna, Sebastian Scolarici, David Frank, Robert Sassoon, Daryl Isaacs, Sarah Crow, Ed Stern, Philip Howard, Greville Ward, Thorold Barker and Jenny Anderson, David Pflumenbaum, Colin Sterling, Anya Strzemien, Rob Fishman, Kenny Lerer, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, Dylan Ratigan, Robin Goldman, Mark Hoffman, Jonathan Wald, Tyler Mathison, Dennis Kneale, Kerima Greene, Bill Griffeth, Michele Cabruso-Cabrera, Larry Kudlow, Maria Bartiromo, Erin Burnett, Nick Dunn, Ellen Egeth, Steve Lewis, Sandy Cannold, Andrea Mantia, Jim Connor, Ryan Ruggiero, and all the team at
CNBC
.

Thank you to all my family: my parents, Simon and Jill Ward (thank you for being so patient: I know this ruined your trip to New York); to my sisters Lucinda Napier and Antonia Crawshay and your awesome husbands and children, I apologize for being so short on the phone.

An especial thanks to Veronica Wadley, the British editor who discovered me back in 1992. You taught me pretty much everything I know about journalism and have supported me ever since.

Also, the team at home who make my life run seamlessly: Marcia Powell, Victoria Doctora, and the nanny of all nannies, Zezy Barbosa. You know I could do nothing without you.

There is one more person I think about now that this book is coming to a close.

Many years ago when I was a cub reporter on the British paper, the
Independent
, I told the paper’s literary editor, John Walsh, a charming, effervescent Irishman, that one day I’d like to write a book. We were on the subway (the so-called London Tube) and I can still recall the uncharacteristic look of derision on his face.

“Are you aware just how difficult that is? ” he said. “It’s . . . really, really hard.”

It was at that moment I decided that by the time I was 40 I would have written a book—a serious book on a significant subject that even John Walsh might want to read. So, thank you, John Walsh, whom I have not seen since, for laying down the gauntlet.

Thanks also have to go to my husband of fifteen years, Matthew Doull—and congratulations to him for his own much-deserved successes accomplished while I was deep in this book.

But this book is dedicated to two young men who know far more about Lehman Brothers than is healthy for two males who turned seven years old this year.

Orlando and Lorcan Doull have put up with “Mummy’s annoying book” with humor, wit, and patience way beyond your years.

Without the joy of seeing you each night, of hearing all about your adventures—imaginary and real—and without the mandatory snuggles and chat that you demand every evening, this book would not be worth anything. Nothing I ever write could come close to the greatest accomplishment of my life—which is producing you.

As we say to each other every night at home: “I love you to infinity.” This is for you, in the hope that when you read it, you will already be becoming men whose dreams are limitless but who never lose touch with reality.

Mummy

Lehman’s management team in 1989 (
clockwise from top
): Richard S. Fuld Jr., Robert A. Genirs, Paul Williams, Robert A. Shapiro, Steven Gott, Bruce Lakefield, Thomas H. Tucker, Theodore Roosevelt IV, Jeffrey Vanderbeek, Joseph Gregory, John Coghlan, T. Christopher Pettit.