Tommy Kim, 27, formerly of UBS, for example, logged 37 days of snowboarding in 2008 after being fired last January. “When I got laid off, it was like, hallelujah,” he said.
After the snow melted, he came back to New York, where “I went paint-balling,” Mr. Kim said. “I went to Six Flags.” Now: “I stay up late, wake up late, go to the beach a lot. I play a lot of video games when I can’t find people to hang out with.”
Recently, Mr. Kim turned his attention to organizing his vast music collection and playing DJ gigs around town, including a Saturday party at the Brooklyn Museum and a few weddings (he was a well-known DJ during his undergrad days at Dartmouth). He’s also taking break-dancing classes. And he built himself a new computer, just for the hell of it. Looked up the instructions online, bought the parts, et voilà!
And his job search? “I’m kind of looking,” Mr. Kim said. “I decided last week maybe I should be more proactive.” It’s hard to get worked up, though, because “President Bush extended unemployment by another 13 weeks!” That’s $405 a week on top of the “generous” UBS severance.

Bumped Bankers Go Bonkers [Observer]

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Comments (55)

  1. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:31 AM

    portrait of a waste product.

  2. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:31 AM

    portrait of a waste product.

  3. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:37 AM

    I assume Mr. Kim is Korean. His parents must be on suicide watch. No violin, no medical school, no golf, no job.

  4. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:39 AM

    No more “Tommy veddy smart. Graduate from Dotmot and now work UBS”

  5. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:43 AM

    Tommy’s not the douchebag of the piece. How about this fucking kid?
    “I know a girl from Bear Stearns … she’s going to fashion school right now. She’s taking classes in fashion,” said a 23-year-old whippersnapper with styled blond hair who felt pretty secure in his own perch. “I’ll put it this way: The book I manage is worth about a trillion dollars.”
    Err, there’s no way in hell that’s even remotely possible, little prick

  6. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:52 AM

    5 Is pointing out that Korean parents have high expectations for their kids racist?

  7. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:53 AM

    Whats all the hate for? Misery *hearts* company

  8. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:54 AM

    More importantly, who the hell calls it “Six Flags?” It’s Great Adventure, motherfuckers!

  9. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:57 AM

    Don’t feel too bad for Tommy. The unemployment benefits extension means that his comp will be greater than the bonuses of many who had to work at UBS for the last year.
    Some career advice for Tommy. Grown-ups should have grown-up first names.
    -Guesty

  10. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:58 AM

    you should be a little bit nicer to the koreans. They just might buy your bank and let Tommy take your job after he’s mastered snowboarding.

  11. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 11:59 AM

    @10– “Don’t feel too bad for Tommy” pretty sure that was the point of the headline

  12. Posted by Anal_yst | August 27, 2008 at 12:05 PM

    Wait, so unemployment was what, 25 weeks, plus now its an additional 12 weeks?
    Hmmm…..

  13. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:09 PM

    The 13 weeks was added by the dems in the stimulus bill. Dems got em on that one.

  14. Posted by Joseph di Jersey City | August 27, 2008 at 12:11 PM

    6: Clearly they were interviewing Dr. Evil’s daughter. I’m sure she touched her pinky to her mouth when she claimed to have a book worth a TRILLION dollars.

  15. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:12 PM

    @6 — he did say “about” a trillion

  16. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:18 PM

    A trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars there….pretty soon you’re starting to talk about some serious money.

  17. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:20 PM

    the NYSDOL goes after these guys who brag in the press about the 405 club; there were some notable flameouts in the ’02/’03 period. if he fradualently stated he was looking for employment and collected checks, he’s got some legal expenses that he’ll need to cover.

  18. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:20 PM

    The rectum sucker manging the trillion $ book #6 mentions in the post is clearly going to be in Trader Monthly’s 30 retards under 30 next year.

  19. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:24 PM
  20. Posted by Lowly Assistant | August 27, 2008 at 12:27 PM

    “I’ll put it this way: The book I manage is worth about a trillion dollars.”
    Should read: “The book managed by the guy who throws a phone at the guy who throws a phone at the guy who’s my boss who throws a phone at my head is worth about a trillion dollars.”
    This kid is probably feigning gastrointestinal problems, playing brickbreaker on the toilet. Give me a fucking break, kiddo.

  21. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:28 PM

    I bet that the trillion dollar manager is also able to get away with a 250 btps fee, a 7 year back end load and keeping timmmmay on staff for his personal “gratification”.

  22. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:29 PM

    I bet that the trillion dollar manager is also able to get away with a 250 btps fee, a 7 year back end load and keeping timmmmay on staff for his personal “gratification”.

  23. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:34 PM

    tommy kim is my hero.

  24. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:37 PM

    A point of comparison: JPM has about $500bln in Trading Assets on its books, so unless this 23-year-old douche manages the entire trading operation of a bank twice that size… Then again as #16 says, he did say “about” a trillion

  25. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:44 PM

    i love how the douche bag 23 year old has now stolen the spotlight from poor tommy kim

  26. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:44 PM

    i love how the douche bag 23 year old has now stolen the spotlight from poor tommy kim

  27. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 12:44 PM

    i love how the douche bag 23 year old has now stolen the spotlight from poor tommy kim

  28. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 1:08 PM

    tommy loves mayo

  29. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 1:11 PM

    Reporters love to get quotes that defy logic. Very few 23 year olds on a trading desk are trusted with more than a food order. You know the kid is full of sh*t but you have to wonder if the reporter knew any better.

  30. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 1:19 PM

    Tommy Kim and the Trillion Dollar Boy need to merge in order to survive.

  31. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 1:44 PM

    In fairness the trillion dollars could be some douchebag who has to roll a trillion dollars of tomnext….. while true is relatively meaningless and could be done by some back office jub

  32. Posted by diablo | August 27, 2008 at 1:49 PM

    Extending unemployment in this environment is necessary to stimulate demand. No demand, no growth.

  33. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 2:28 PM

    Enjoy it while it lasts, pretty soon the severance money runs out, you still have no job and you have to move back to Podunk City and live in your parents basement. I’d much rather be secure in a job right now than the situation these fools are in. Six months from now, I’ll still be secure in a job, and they will still be lining up at the unemployment office. Losers.

  34. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 2:36 PM

    That 24 year old kid probably works in treasury. Back office!

  35. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 2:44 PM

    20 Interesting (article quotes a group of out of work bankers partying hardily in 2002). I’m busy today, but wondering if anyone with some time on their hands would like to report back to us on what’s became of those quoted. I found one quickly (from his wedding announcement):
    Mr. Diggs, 37, is a project manager in the Hartford office of Diggs Construction, a commercial building company and construction project management company that is owned and was founded by his father.
    He has a joint JD/MBA from Penn/Wharton and was bounced from MS.

  36. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 2:50 PM

    “That’s $405 a week on top of the “generous” UBS severance.”
    $405 a week isn’t even the max. What a stellar earner he must have been.
    MS

  37. Posted by MuniShe | August 27, 2008 at 3:02 PM

    Actually $405 is the max in New York.

  38. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 3:07 PM

    In the words of John Wayne “Life is hard; it’s harder if you’re stupid.”

  39. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 3:11 PM

    36 great minds think alike..
    i too did some digging and 2 of the people I found were in pretty good positions than what they left.
    the guy who quit his job to party is now a principal at Soros, and another is a VP at a PE firm..

  40. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 4:11 PM

    Tommy Kim and Timothy Sykes need to merge in order to survive.

  41. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 4:59 PM

    LONG LIVE TOMMY KIM.

  42. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 5:00 PM

    LONG LIVE TOMMY KIM.

  43. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 5:02 PM

    34- you’re a neurotic loser

  44. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 5:05 PM

    @ 44,
    not really, just being realistic, and laughing my way to the bank while I’m at it…

  45. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 5:06 PM

    isnt 405 the max everywhere?

  46. Posted by guest | August 27, 2008 at 10:31 PM

    TOMMY IS KING of his domain.

  47. Posted by guest | August 28, 2008 at 3:25 AM

    No offense, but some of the comments are a little harsh and unfair on here. I hope none of you ever find yourselves out of work, because let me tell you, it is a living hell.
    Yes. $405 is the max on unemployment in NYS and you’d be surprised how little annual income you have to make to qualify for that pittance. For those of us living a comfortable six-figure life style, try living on $1620 per month. I bet it doesn’t cover most people’s rent.
    I have now been unemployed for nearly a year. I did not receive a generous severance and despite an ivy-league education and a strong track record, I am still unable to find a decent job (and btw, I made too much money in 2007 to receive the stupid $600 stimulus check).
    However … I’ve had the good sense to save money over the years and the better sense to live within my means before (and after) I lost my job. So while the job market is bleak, I have at least been able to survive. And no, I did not take the summer off and have not jetted off to places unknown with my new-found freedom.
    I have persisted in my job search throughout the summer and even had 2 interviews this week and 1 coming up next week … so much for “nobody hires until after Labor Day”.
    These people living the high life are in for a very rude awakening come the fall, and worse, I am sure they are racking up debt while they’re at it.

  48. Posted by guest | August 28, 2008 at 8:26 AM

    I suspect Mr. Kim is going to do just fine.

  49. Posted by guest | August 28, 2008 at 9:52 AM

    Mr Kim
    Good for you. Have some fun and enjoy your life. When you are done check out my site http://www.jgtrips.com and I will get you started on a career where you NEVER have to go into the office again. You can travel ANYWHERE.
    TX TRAVEL CHIK

  50. Posted by guest | August 28, 2008 at 10:10 AM

    23-year old managing a trillion dollars — obviously she works for Fannie. Who else has that much money that poorly managed?

  51. Posted by guest | August 28, 2008 at 10:33 AM

    @48– You’re an amazing loser with that education and big job. But tell us, how much white cream sauce did you make with your right hand this year?

  52. Posted by guest | August 28, 2008 at 6:28 PM

    @52 who’s the loser? Who said I was a dude? Now please go jerk off and go to hell (not necessarily in that order). You missed the entire point.

  53. Posted by guest | August 30, 2008 at 5:16 PM

    Buck up, Tommy. They probably haven’t gotten around to canceling your UU name yet. That’s what happened to one person they ejected. He was rehired into another department a month later and found the geniuses in HR still had him on the books. Consider this hiatus a gift. You’ll get something better. Anything is better.

  54. Posted by guest | September 2, 2008 at 3:53 AM

    The words “genius” and “HR” (if that can be considered a word for the benefit of this9 should NEVER be uttered or written in the same sentence.
    Equally so “compliance officer” and “business prevention officer” should ALWAYS be uttered or written in conjunction.
    @48… wasn’t labor day yesterday? And aren’t you still out of work? So, you DIDN’T get hired before labor day and as such I suggest you check your resume for inaccuracies, it may be why you’re still out of work.

  55. Posted by TimothyX | March 30, 2009 at 7:00 AM

    Unemployment is really the issue in times of economic recession. Many of us are affected and been tightening our belts to survive. Many of our college graduates are often couldn’t find a good job because some companies are lay-offing their employees or worst they’ve already closed because of bad economy. The unemployment rate has hit levels not seen in decades, and a lot of people can’t even get an installment loan to keep them afloat until they can gain new employment. Growing contingents of economists are predicting 10% unemployment by the end of this economic crisis; several states are already there. California, Michigan, Rhode Island and South Carolina have all hit 10% thus far in the recession, with Oregon and North Carolina about to cross that threshold. (Wyoming has it good – the sole state under 4 %.) Many companies struggle, and more people file for benefits every day. Let’s hope the good predictions are correct we’ll see a drop in unemployment in 2010. We don’t need to rely on predictions; we all need to do is pray for the best!
    CLICK THE LINK FOR MORE DETAILS:
    http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/25/installment-loan-struggling-company/

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