The 44-year-old ex-heavyweight champion is in bed by 8 and often up as early as 2 in the morning, at which point he takes a solitary walk around the gated compound in the Las Vegas suburb where he lives while listening to R&B on his iPod. Tyson then occupies himself with reading (he’s an avid student of history, philosophy and psychology), watching karate movies or taking care of his homing pigeons, who live in a coop in the garage…As part of his cleaning-up campaign, he has been adhering to a strict vegan diet for nearly two years, explaining that he doesn’t want anything in him “that’s going to enrage me — no processed food, no meat.” He says that he can no longer abide the smell of meat even on someone’s breath…If Tyson misses his high-rolling days, he isn’t letting on: “If you make a lot of money, you end up being around people you don’t want to be around,” he says. “Guys on allowance. It takes years to gather the audacity to get rid of them.” [NYT]
Archive for March 2011
When Bear Stearns went down for the dirt nap three years ago to the day (more on the anniversary later), many people assumed having the firm listed as a one-time employer on the résumé would be the equivalent of pulling a Merrill, i.e. it would make you categorically unemployable. Apparently these people had never heard of a guy named John Meriweather who, despite being forced to sign up investors for his latest fund down at the dog track, is proof positive that you can blow it or work for a place that (spectacularly) blows it and it will in no way affect your future prospects. According to Bloomberg and former BSC chairman Ace Greenberg, most Bear execs have “landed on their feet.” Continue reading »
Japan Nuclear Crisis Deepens on Suspected Reactor Breach (Bloomberg)
“If you get enough cold water inside you may stop the generation of steam and then life will get easier. Until then it is a bitch,” said Robert Kelley, a nuclear engineer based in Vienna. “As long as there is steam coming out it will carry radioactive particles and gases with it.”
BREAKING: Citigroup Tops List of Banks That Received Federal Aid (CNBC)
Now it can be told: The bank that exposed the federal government to the greatest potential loss during the government bailout was Citigroup, which received a grand total of $476.2 billion in cash and guarantees, according to a new report of the Congressional Oversight Panel which oversees the TARP program.
Warren Buffett Cancels Trip To Japan (CNBC)
Buffett had been scheduled to attend a Tungaloy Corp. plant opening in Fukushima prefecture on Tuesday, March 22. Tungaloy is owned by Berkshire subsidiary Iscar, a toolmaker headquartered in Israel. He had hoped to make the trip, but canceled after authorities in Japan suggested it would not be the best time to visit.
AIG Takeover of Fuji Fire Offers 204% Arbitrage Gain After Quake (Bloomberg)
AIG on Feb. 10 agreed to purchase the 45 percent of the Osaka, Japan-based casualty insurer it didn’t own through AIG’s Chartis Inc. unit for 146 yen a share. The $565 million offer, which closes March 24, would hand traders an annualized profit of 204 percent based on Fuji Fire’s share price yesterday, the largest of any pending deal in Japan above $500 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
KKR Seeks New Capital Sources for Next Buyout Fund (Reuters)
KKR, which raised an $18 billion global buyout fund in 2006, is just starting to raise a new North American-focused fund with a target size of $8 billion to $10 billion.
£1 million for ‘world’s most expensive dog’ (Telegraph)
Big Splash, or “Hong Dong” in Chinese, is 11-months-old but already stands nearly three-feet-high at the shoulder and weighs more than 180lbs, according to his breeder, Lu Liang. “He is a perfect specimen,” said Mr Lu, who runs the Tibetan Mastiff Garden in Laoshan, near the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao. “He has excellent genes and will be a good breeding dog. When I started in this business, ten years ago, I never thought we would see such a price.” Mr Lu said the details of the sale were confidential, but revealed that the buyer, who payed 10 million yuan (£945,000), was a multi-millionaire coal baron from the north of China. “I could see he loved the puppy, or I would not have sold him,” he added. “The buyer told me he thought he was a good investment. As a male dog, he can be hired out to other breeders for as much as 100,000 yuan a shot. He could recoup his money in just a couple of years.” Continue reading »
Noted Gaga fan and Robin Hood board member Steve Cohen may have had a role in pushing for the performance, though it very well could have also been honoree Larry Fink, who demanded the Gags the after dinner entertainment portion of the evening. [Bloomberg, earlier]
So he was late on some payments, so what? So his lawyer even admits to feeling awkward arguing this case, so what? That woman is not seeing another dime! Continue reading »
Don’t Forget To Sign Up For The First Annual Dealbreaker NCAA Tournament Challenge (UPDATE)
By Bess LevinBut only if you are into winning things like Peter Lugers, Beamers, Patagonias, “I love Dealbreaker” buttons and the chance to say you owned the DBNCAATC. Continue reading »
Time was, Anil Kumar was Raj Rajaratnam’s “hero” and “star.” That was when Anil was giving Raj the good stuff, meaning hot material, non-public information about various companies that the Galleon founder could trade on. Then Kumar’s work started slipping, in comparison to fellow foot soliders like Danielle Chiesi, whose red fishnet stockings Kumar could not compete with and before you knew it, Anil wasn’t even worth the $1 million/year Rajaratnam was paying him for tips. Continue reading »
Working on Wall Street, odds are you’ve been informed by Human Resources of certain behaviors that are not (officially) tolerated by the firm, especially those that would fall under the umbrella of sexual harassment. The Do’s and Don’ts were probably reviewed in a training session or online on your own but for some people, who have trouble grasping the concept of why grasping (or doing anything to) the ass of a colleague is frowned upon, a more comprehensive tutorial is necessary. In some cases, in fact, you may have coworkers who need to watch a whole film about sexual harassment before the idea penetrates. The demand for such narratives is demonstrated in an educational flick presumably produced by some sort of employment group entitled “Harassment On The Trading Floor,” A Play In Two Acts. Whether you’ve recently had a report put in your file with regard to forcing underlings to “pay the toll” (e.g. see a blow job to completion) before putting on a trade or are just in the mood for some superb acting, we highly recommend taking a looksee. Continue reading »
Lloyd Blankfein running AIG. Continue reading »
The good news is it has nothing to do with tax evasion. The bad news is the bank may have manipulated Libor rates. Continue reading »
Did Raj Rajaratnam Not So Subtly Suggest Anil Kumar Should Trade Sexual Favors For Inside Information?
By Bess Levin
One thing we’ve learned about Raj Rajaratnam gal-pal Danielle Chieis over the last year or so is that the information she passed to the Galleon founder was the best of the best. To be sure, guys like Anil Kumar and Rajat Gupta gave Raj good stuff too, but Chiesi had a leg up on the other tipsters because she “used her sexuality to build sources at male-dominated tech companies.” Executives were apparently powerless to the allure of her “tight red suit with red fishnet stockings” and once they saw her “suggestive” dance moves it was game over.
It’s well-known at this point that she had an affair with IBM’s Bob Moffat who was more than happy to tip her off (not knowing he was just being used though, Moffat, who cried at least two times in public over Chieis, has since vowed to never open his heart to another woman again, besides his wife), from which Raj benefitted. Yesterday in court, former McKinsey director Anil Kumar confirmed another one of Danielle’s source of tips, and hinted that Raj wanted him to take a play from DC’s playabook. Continue reading »
