The Real Deal: My Life in Business and Philanthropy - Hardcover

Weill, Sandy; Kraushaar, Judah S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446578142 ISBN 13: 9780446578141

Publisher: Business Plus, 2006

Synopsis

Shortly after we set up shop, the four of us and our wives convened at Arthur's home on Long Island to celebrate. It was a festive occasion, and we all openly shared our aspirations. To this day, I remember the others stressing over and over their desire to become wealthy. Given that Joanie and I were raising two toddlers and lived nearly hand-to-mouth, the talk was certainly seductive. Still, what I remember most from that dinner was my declaration that the money should be secondary-what mattered more to me was to build a great firm: one that would lead the industry, employ lots of people, endure over many years, and, importantly, command respect.Over the next forty-three years, I never altered my priorities."-from THE REAL DEALThe Sandy Weill story is truly one for the ages. Starting with $30,000 in borrowed cash in 1960, and relying on uncanny entrepreneurial instincts, Sandy created one of the leading securities firms in the U.S. and became one of the best known businessmen in the world. After selling his company to American Express and becoming its president, he experienced a professional setback. Undaunted, he cannily parlayed it into a second career, starting over with a sleepy consumer loan company called Commercial Credit, which over the next seventeen years he transformed into the leading global bank, Citigroup. During this span, Weill as chairman and CEO delivered an astounding 2,600 percent return to investors-better than legendary CEO Jack Welch or investor Warren Buffett during that same period.Yet success is never an easy path, and Weill divulges the highs and lows. His ascent to power has been documented by the media over the years, but never before has Weill revealed the brutally honest and unvarnished side of an astonishing life and career.And Weill goes further, sharing his love of philanthropy, a journey that took him "from a mediocre bass drummer in my high-school marching band to the chairmanship of Carnegie Hall." He brings readers into his personal life, introducing them to his wife, Joan, his daily inspiration, and discussing his relationships with competitors and colleagues alike, including proteges like Peter Cohen and Jamie Dimon. Along the way, he shares the most important lessons he learned in business and in life. From a middle-class Brooklyn childhood to corporate legend, philanthropist, financier, and chairman emeritus of Citigroup Inc., THE REAL DEAL tells a remarkable story-that of a financial superstar who always loved the game more than the gold.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"I've been friends with Sandy Weill for nearly thirty years, and this book is vintage Sandy: at every turn it's spirited, passionate, and brutally honest."

--President Gerald Ford

"A consummate innovator, Sandy Weill has written a memoir which uniquely brings to life the dramatic evolution of the modern financial services industry."

--Dr. Alan Greenspan

"THE REAL DEAL doesn't mince words on what it takes to be successful in business and life. Sandy's drive and hard-earned lessons resonate throughout this fascinating book."

--Dr. Henry Kissinger

"Sandy Weill reinvented Wall Street, redefined banking, and reshaped the world of financial services. He is a visionary who changed the world of business for all of us, and in doing so became that rarest of all breeds--a legend in his own time."

--Ken Chenault

About the Author:

SANDY WEILL lives with his family in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Business Plus
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0446578142
• ISBN 13: 9780446578141
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 544