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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Warren Hellman: Financier, Philanthropist, Civic Patron, Mensch including supplemental interviews with: Philip Hammarskjold and Susan Hirsch Interviews conducted by Lisa Rubens in 2011 Copyright © 2014 by The Regents of the University of California ii Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Warren Hellman dated October 1, 2012; Philip Hammarskjold dated August 22, 2014; and Susan Hirsch dated September 6, 2014. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Warren Hellman “Warren Hellman: Financier, Philanthropist, Civic Patron, Mensch” conducted by Lisa Rubens in 2011, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2014. iii Warren Hellman iv Warren Hellman was a San Francisco businessman, philanthropist, and banjo enthusiast with deep California roots. He started and funded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival which is held annually in Golden Gate Park. v Table of Contents — Warren Hellman: Financier, Philanthropist, Civic Patron, Mensch Interview with Warren Hellman 1 Interview with Philip Hammarskjold 349 Interview with Susan Hirsch 375 vi vii Table of Contents — Warren Hellman Introduction by Gerson Bakar xiii Interview History by Lisa Rubens xvi Interview 1: March 3, 2011 Audio File 1 1 Birth in New York City July 25, 1934 — Reflections on parents, family heritage and moving to California — Childhood experiences — Jewish identity, family life and family’s heritage in San Francisco Audio File 2 29 Family history at Sugar Bowl — Musings on Ruth Koshland, Hellman’s mother — The imperative of lineage — Remembering summers at Dunsmuir House and Sugar Pine Point Interview 2: March 10, 2011 Audio File 3 35 Some incidental stories — Network of related families in San Francisco — Attending Lowell High School: competing on the swim team; reflections on social life — Attending UC Berkeley — Playing water polo for Cal — More on Sugar Pine Point — A summer job at a lumber mill — Social life at Cal — Meeting future wife, Chris Sander — Discusses Chris’ current battle with Alzheimer’s — Remembering Chris’ father, a card-carrying Communist lawyer — Serving in the U.S. Army Audio File 4 63 Close relationship between Hellman’s mother and his wife; shared interest in the ballet — Reflections on Chris as an artist and singer with The Wronglers — Attending Harvard Business School; focus on finance — Reflecting on the political climate of the l950s — Primed to join Lehman Brothers viii Interview 3: April 6, 2011 Audio File 5 73 Working for Lehman Brothers as an associate in the industrial department: becoming familiar with a wide range of corporate finance; weathering bull and bear markets — The role of family at Lehman Brothers — The culture of Lehman Brothers — Good deals, serving on boards and having fun — Issues of hierarchy; the role of Bobby [Robert] Lehman — Becoming a partner — The structure of work at Lehman — Lewis Glucksman and Lehman’s use of a new commercial instrument — Working with the SEC to recapitalize Lehman — Reflections on Lucius Clay and Pete Peterson at Lehman — Comparing the work culture at Goldman Sachs with that of Lehman Brothers Interview 4: May 5, 2011 Audio File 6 96 Reflecting on Hazel Dickens; good friend and inspiration for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival [HSB] — On the erosion of regulatory legislation and agencies: Glass-Stegall and the SEC — Becoming president of Lehman Brothers — “The Coup” at Lehman: firing Fred Ehrman; working with Pete Peterson to clean house and rebuild Lehman — Serving on the board of Twentieth Century Fox — Discusses growth of acquisitions and mergers at Lehman — Father’s company, J. Barth, merges with Dean Witter — Mother’s untimely death; father’s death and ensuing protracted court battle with stepmother — The role of political party politics at Lehman Audio File 7 119 More reflections on people and the culture at Lehman — Raising a family in New York and Vermont; founding a ski school in Vermont — Resigning from Lehman to start a business in Boston — Recounting continuing interest in Lehman — An aside on investing in NASDAQ — Having a penchant for restructuring business and organizations; current examples in Hellman’s work for the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation and San Francisco’s public employee pension plans ix Interview 5: May 19, 2011 Audio File 8 131 More on leaving Lehman: a changed business; a desire to be closer to the family in Vermont — Forming a private equity investment firm with Joe Gal and Paul Ferri; financial success but ugly fallout with Gal — Forming Hellman Ferri; extraordinary business success and personal friendship — Delineating distinctions between private equity and venture capital investments — Leaving Hellman Ferri to concentrate on private equity; Ferri to focus on venture capital — Aside on love for the movie business; trustee for Orion Pictures — Choosing remarkable partners to work and invest with — On con men and the Con Artist Hall of Infamy — Distinguishing greed from successful investing — Observation on the Hellman children’s education and career pursuits Audio File 9 154 A tongue-in-cheek comparison of running marathons to business acumen — Moving back to San Francisco to be close to family — Forming a new association with Lehman Brothers in San Francisco Interview 6: June 1, 2011 Audio File 10 160 Meeting Tully Friedman and forming Hellman & Friedman, 1984 — Serving as a trustee for a myriad of foundations and businesses — Establishing Hellman, Jordan Management — More on board service, investment activities and family connections — The saga of re-structuring Levi Strauss & Co — An overview of economic up and down turns at Levi Strauss Audio File 11 181 Reflecting on initial strategies of Hellman & Friedman — Becoming a running fanatic — Investing in Power Bar — Competing in the Tevis Cup: a 100 mile equestrian endurance ride — Anticipating an upcoming music tour with The Wronglers x Interview 7: July 7, 2011 Audio File 12 194 On having superstitious rituals — Creating Hellman & Friedman’s first institutional fund, 1987 — Reflecting on specific investments: American President Line; Federated Stores; Fairfax Media — Opening and closing an office in Hong Kong — Serving on the Board of Trustees for Mills College; proposing the school become co-ed and weathering fierce resistance — Reflecting on student opposition to investments in South Africa — On being called “Hurricane Hellman” when working at Lehman — On benefiting from the acquisition of Lehman by Shearson — Becoming involved with San Francisco civic issues; reckoning with conflicts of interest — Advising John Garamendi on Executive Life, a fraudulent insurance company — Reflections on Michael Milken and a new way of looking at finance — Advising Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; traveling to Asia to attract business to California Audio File 13 213 On investing in GAMI and Itel — Running a capital campaign for the San Francisco Ballet — Chris’ role as chair of the ballet trustees — Reckoning with ballet critics — An aside on taking up the banjo and lessons with Don McLean — Reflecting on Chris’ many talents and interests including efforts on behalf of daughter and son in law’s San Francisco Free Clinic — More on the agony of Alzheimer’s — Finding a Whyte Ladye banjo — Acknowledging outstanding people at Hellman & Friedman and in The Wronglers — Brief remarks on Hellman family philanthropy Interview 8: July 19, 2011 Audio File 14 226 Serving on the board of Williams Sonoma — Reviewing a sequence of investments: a few losses; extraordinary success with DoubleClick and Young and Rubicon — Investing