24 WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2009 NEWS IN ENGLISH Ï Êüóìïò The Search for a Hero on Wall Street

HEROIC figures have been a rarity amid the evils and embar- He began Act III in 2003 when he rassments of the current econom- agreed to sell Bank One to JPMorgan Chase at a relatively meager 10 percent ic crisis. Duff McDonald claims premium over its stock price with the to have found one in the form of provision that he would become the Mr. Dimon admits raising collateral the chairman and chief executive leader of the combined company after requirements, he denies causing the of JPMorgan Chase. two years. demise of Lehman or Merrill.

n “Last Man Standing: The “He justified the deal with JPMorgan “Last Man Standing” offers a useful Ascent of Jamie Dimon and Chase as the best fit for Bank One,” recounting of Mr. Dimon’s role in a IJPMorgan Chase” (Simon and Mr. Mc Donald writes, adding paren- continuing financial epic, but it has its Schuster, $28), Mr. McDonald thetically, “Others would snipe that it flaws. It is filled with parenthetical pas- describes the defining events in Mr. was also the best fit for Jamie Dimon.” sages apparently intended to add bal- Dimon’s life and career that led him to ance but that sometimes end up con- become such a powerful force during After Mr. Dimon returned to New tradicting other passages. Along with the financial crisis. York, he confronted the most severe supplying numerous anecdotes about economic crisis since the Great Mr. Dimon’s temperamental tirades, Mr. McDonald boasts some solid Depression. But in contrast to many of for example, Mr. Mc Donald notes that journalistic credentials. He is a con- his peers, Mr. Dimon had steadfastly “he is not a bully. He hates bullies.” tributing editor at New York magazine, focused on cost cutting and reducing In addition, despite having much and he has written for Vanity Fair, Time, Condé Nast Portfolio, GQ and Mr. Dimon was “quite literally the only chief Wired. He has also won two Canadian National Magazine Awards for busi- of a major bank to have properly prepared for ness and investigative reporting.

While Mr. McDonald is not uncriti- the hundred-year storm” that hit Wall Street cal of Mr. Dimon, “Last Man Standing” (to be released Oct. 6) is McDonald notes. “He regularly largely positive. Mr. Dimon was “quite rewarded Dimon, but at the same time, bureaucracy. Although JPMorgan access to his subject, Mr. McDonald literally the only chief of a major bank he often found subtle ways to impede Chase traded in derivatives, he kept fails to press Mr. Dimon for specific to have properly prepared for the the young man’s progress by forcing the bank’s exposure relatively limited. details about his personal roles in con- hundred-year storm” that hit Wall power sharing arrangements on Dimon troversial episodes like the Lehman Street, Mr. McDonald writes, and this at every turn.” IN the spring of 2008, at the behest of debacle. put him in a position to help rescue According to Mr. McDonald, Mr. the Treasury secretary, Henry M. the rest of the financial system. Dimon responded by challenging Mr. Paulson Jr., JPMorgan Chase bought In the end, the question remains: is Weill at every turn, and ultimately forc- the failing Bear Stearns for $10 a share Jamie Dimon the selfless savior of Mr. Dimon, 53, is in the third major ing Mr. Weill’s daughter out of a top (up from an original offer of $2 a American capitalism or is he just act of a career that has been chronicled executive position. As negotiations to share). In the fall of 2008, after passing another self-aggrandizer who benefited by virtually every major financial publi- complete the crowning merger of on Mr. Paulson’s proposal to take over by going against the prevailing industry cation, and in books about his former Travelers and Citigroup came to Morgan Stanley (which survived any- trends? mentor, Sanford I. Weill. fruition, Mr. Weill informed Mr. way), Mr. Dimon acquired Washington Dimon he would not be on the new Mutual, which was then on the brink of Mr. McDonald calls Mr. Dimon a Act I, the story of Mr. Dimon’s sym- board. insolvency. “hero,” but the rest of us may wish to biotic, strife-torn relationship with Mr. withhold judgment until this financial Weill, remains as compelling as ever in But Mr. Dimon’s reputation on Wall Mr. McDonald notes that Mr. Hercules completes his labors. Mr. McDonald’s retelling. Street — what Mr. McDonald calls the Dimon’s deals for Bear Stearns and “Jamie premium” — was only magni- Washington Mutual were widely Jamie Dimon Fresh out of Harvard Business fied. After Mr. Dimon’s resignation, regarded as helping to save the finan- School, Mr. Dimon turned down a Citigroup stock fell 2 percent, while cial system from collapse. He also James L. "Jamie" Dimon was born in lucrative offer from Goldman Sachs to JPMorgan Chase stock jumped 10 per- praises Mr. Dimon for declaring a New York City, where he would attend become a personal aide to Mr. Weill, a cent on rumors moratorium Browning School, to Theodore and friend of his parents. Mr. Weill, his that he would on foreclo- Themis Dimon. His grandfather, a elder by more than two decades, had land there. sures on Greek immigrant from Smyrni, was a the vision and experience. Mr. Dimon owner- broker and passed on his knowledge of had the energy and the attention to In fact, Mr. occupied the business to his son and partner, detail; he also had a notori- homes with Theodore. They worked together for ously short temper. JPMorgan 19 years, and Jamie held summer jobs Chase mort- at their New York office. Later, he Through a bold series of gages from majored in psychology and economics mergers and acquisitions, the fall of at Tufts University, before earning an Mr. Weill and Mr. Dimon 2008M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business built a sleepy subprime cred- through School. Upon his graduation in 1982, it company in Baltimore into March. Sandy Weill convinced him to turn a towering financial con- down offers from Goldman Sachs and glomerate that combined Mr.Morgan Stanley to join him as an assis- insurance (Travelers), Dimon sub- tant at American Express. investment banking Dimon wound up sequently came under fire for allegedly Dimon is married to Judith Kent; (Salomon Brothers) and in Chicago, where putting Lehman Brothers out of busi- they have three children: Julia, Laura, brokerage (Smith Barney). he devoted the sec- ness and driving Merrill Lynch into the and Kara Leigh. Outside of his duties ond major act of arms of Bank of America by raising to JPMorgan Chase in New York, “Weill had a peculiar style his career to resus- collateral on loans that the two institu- Jamie also owns a home in the Chicago of mentoring,” Mr. citating Bank One. tions had with JPMorgan Chase. While area.