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The Devil's Casino: Friendship, Betrayal, an

The Devil's Casino: Friendship, Betrayal, and the High-Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers

Vicky Ward
2010
T2 270 pages · about 4h 30m to read Open Librarygoodreads

Summary

Vicky Ward, a Vanity Fair contributor, wrote this account of Lehman Brothers focused on its internal culture and on the personal relationships among its senior executives, particularly Richard Fuld and Joseph Gregory.

The reporting covers the firm from the 1980s, including its period inside American Express, the 1994 spin-off, and the rebuilding under Fuld. Ward's central subject is the executive committee and the way Fuld's isolation and Gregory's management of internal politics affected decisions. She documents the promotion of loyalists over people with relevant experience, the removal of executives who raised concerns about the firm's real estate exposure, particularly Michael Gelband, and the compensation and spending culture among senior management.

The book was criticised on publication for its emphasis on the personal lives and social behaviour of executives and their spouses, which occupies substantial space and adds little to understanding the failure. Ward's sourcing is largely from people who had left the firm or been removed, which shapes the account. The material on how internal dissent was handled and on Gregory's role in personnel decisions is the useful part. Readers wanting the financial mechanics should go elsewhere, including to Oonagh McDonald or to the Valukas examiner's report.

Key takeaways 6

  1. Executives who raised concerns about Lehman's real estate exposure were removed rather than heard.
  2. Promotion at Lehman rewarded loyalty to the chief executive over relevant experience in the businesses being managed.
  3. Fuld's isolation from the trading floor meant he relied on Gregory's account of what the firm held.
  4. Gregory controlled personnel decisions and used them to manage internal politics rather than capability.
  5. Ward's sourcing is largely from departed executives, which shapes the account and should be weighed.
  6. The book's attention to executives' personal lives adds little to understanding the firm's failure.

Who should read it

Readers interested in how internal dissent was suppressed at a failing firm, treating the account's sourcing and emphasis with caution.

Similar books 6

Chosen by shared topics, the entries that hold them, and the people who recommended both.

A Colossal Failure of Common SenseA Colossal Failure of Common Sense
T2 A Colossal Failure of Common Sense
Lawrence G. McDonald, Patrick Robinson · 2009
Open LibraryGoodreads

Lehman Brothers' fall seen from its trading floor, and the warnings it ignored.

Lehman Brothers: A Crisis of Value
T3 Lehman Brothers: A Crisis of Value
Oonagh McDonald · 2015
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Focused on accounting and Repo 105.

Street Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman BrStreet Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers
T3 Street Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers
Jared Dillian · 2011
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Insider memoir by a Lehman ETF trader.

The Fed and Lehman BrothersThe Fed and Lehman Brothers
T2 The Fed and Lehman Brothers
Laurence M. Ball · 2018
Open LibraryGoodreads

Evidence that the Fed could legally have saved Lehman Brothers in 2008.

The Murder of Lehman Brothers: An Insider's The Murder of Lehman Brothers: An Insider's Look at the Global Meltdown
T4 The Murder of Lehman Brothers: An Insider's Look at the Global Meltdown
Joseph Tibman · 2009
Open LibraryGoodreads

An insider's account of the forces that led to Lehman's collapse and what followed.

Too Big to FailToo Big to Fail
T1 Too Big to Fail
Andrew Ross Sorkin · 2009
Open LibraryGoodreads

Inside the meetings of bankers and regulators during the 2008 financial crisis.

Recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai, Bill Gates, Max Levchin and 1 other

Where it sits in the reference 2

Lehman Brothers
Companies
The 2008 financial crisis
Financial panics

Topics

Company HistoriesFinance and Markets