Synopses & Reviews
Meet the men and minds that have ignited the greatest decade of deal making in the history of business
In the 1980s Tom Wolfe coined the term "masters of the universe" for hard-charging Wall Streeters. In the '90s, that term is applied broadly to the takeover pros behind a decade of stunning mergers and acquisitions. The decade produced more than $8 trillion in M&A, far more than the $2.4 trillion in the "decade of greed." Daniel J. Kadlec, Time magazine's Wall Street columnist, quizzed nine top guns about the strategies they used to pull off the greatest deals in history. The result is a penetrating portrait of how business is done at its highest level, with insights and lessons for everyone. Masters Of the Universe will open your eyes to the brave new world of deal making.
The Deal Makers
- Hugh McColl with his gripping tale of buying BankAmerica
- Sandy Weill on how he pulled off the Citicorp-Travelers merger
- Stephen Bollenbach on the rocky road to breaking up Marriott Corp.
- Carl Icahn with the inside story of his showdown with Texaco
- Gary Wilson on buying Northwest Airlines
- Ted Forstmann on surviving and then thriving with Gulfstream Joe Rice on his signature deal carving Lexmark out of IBM Henry Silverman on his groundbreaking purchase of Avis
Synopsis
Carl Icahn...Sumner Redstone...Sandy Weill...Hugh McColl...the names of some of today's most powerful dealmakers. In Masters of the Universe popular Time magazine columnist Daniel Kadlec profiles these and other top guns, quizzing them on their greatest deals and success strategies. The in-depth portraits and interviews here allow readers an unprecedented look inside the minds of these dealmaking geniuses, and provide access to invaluable tricks of the trade. From Wall Street to real estate and the corporate scene, Masters of the Universe features today's biggest business gurus and rising stars. The stories here make for fascinating reading and provide useful insights to stategies for entrepreneurs, investors, and business readers everywhere.
About the Author
Daniel J. Kadlec writes a regular column about Wall Street and investing for Time magazine, which he joined in 1996. Before that, he was the originator and popular author of USA Today's "Street Talk" column, and he has written extensively about deal makers and the takeover boom in America since 1985. He has appeared as a commentator on CNN and CNBC and has been a contributing editor for CNNfn. He is a graduate of Marquette University and lives with his wife and three children in Chappaqua, New York. This is his first book.