Lloyd Blankfein’s housing troubles have been well-documented. Though safely ensconced at 15CPW for some time now, where nothing can hurt the billionaire and multi-millionaire residents and where no problem can’t be solved with soothing touch and a bedtime story by Sandy “4G” Weill, the li’l fella had been trying in vain to sell his 941 Park Avenue apartment for over a year. He and the wife, Laura, had originally hoped for $15 million when they listed it in June 2009, but saw no interest. They slashed it to $13.5 million and again, no bites, even after throwing in extras like Lucas van Praag serving as nanny/bartender three nights a week. What the Christ was Lloyd supposed to do? Read more »
tips
Lloyd Blankfein Invokes Little Known Clause In Employee Exit Contract In Order To Sell Upper East Side Pad
By Bess Levin
As a Japanese equity and equity warrants sales broker for Merrill Lynch in London, Mark Jeffries usually skipped the group drinking binges where co-workers would regularly booze themselves into incoherence. “I didn’t like at the end of the day getting absolutely drunk. It just wasn’t my way,” said Jeffries. When the bottom fell out of the Japanese market, his job vaporized in the mass layoffs that followed. Jeffries went on to a career in British television and now is a communications consultant in New York, giving keynote speeches around the world. His book, “The Art of Business Seduction,” is a how-to with tips on building emotional bonds with people for business and career success. “I was definitely naive as a stock broker,” Jeffries said. “Getting drunk was the point. That was the emotional connection. I missed that. And so I missed creating a really strong emotional connection.” [FINS via DI]
Yesterday afternoon, Lakewood real estate developer Eliyahu Weinstein was charged with “masterminding” a $200 million scam to defraud investors, starting in September 2005. Along with Vladimir Siforov, Weinstein target Orthodox Jews in his community, “exploiting social and business customs.” And while theirs is not a business model you probably want to aspire to, there is at least one helpful thing to take away from the charges. Specifically, the ones cited in court documents vis-à-vis how Weinstein dealt with investors who wanted their money back. Even if you’re not running a scam, you probably still have to deal with the headache of clients getting all pissy when you have a down month or two, and when that happens, perhaps consider the following approach. Read more »
How To Convince A Hedge Fund Manager Not To Track Dirt All Over The Floor Of Your Open House
By Bess LevinPrudential Douglas Elliman broker Darren Sukenik has rules for people who come to his open houses: have the cash to buy what he’s selling, don’t waste his time, and do not bring god knows whatever is on your shoes into this apartment. In order to ensure prospective buyers abide by commandment number three, Sukenik typically insists people either take off their shoes before entering or cover them with “surgical booties.” Explaining his rationale, he told the Times, “[These] apartments are precious…you want to make it feel like a jewel box. You wouldn’t wear construction boots in a jewel box.”
Usually, people play by Sukenik’s rules. There is one group of people, however, who’ve brought some friction to the table.
Mr. Sukenik said that in the past, some buyers, especially hedge fund executives who view it “humbling” to bare their feet, have angrily stormed out.
Listen up, people. It’s never to early to start talking year-end bonuses and in order to ensure you’ll be making it rain, today we’re going to talk about this: strategy. Pick a number, any number. Visualize that number. What is it? A unit? A buncha units? You want it? You can have it, so long as you arm yourselves with the tools to go get it. This is an organic conversation in which you should feel free to toss ideas of your own but to get things started I’m going to offer a bunch of tips I’ve picked up in conversations with seasoned vets. Such as:
1. You must–must!– have a wing-negotiator. I don’t care if it’s a first year analyst, an intern, or the receptionist, you need someone who’ll be there to a) back you up but most importantly announce your entrance. You will wait outside the conference room and he/she will go in and let everyone know, “Alright, you suits, prepare yourselves for [your first name]-motherfucking [your last name].” Read more »
BTW, for anyone looking for the actual reason why Susquehanna International Group is allegedly the best firm to work at, the answer may involve the fact that they pretty much just let everyone play poker all day (“poker pervades the culture of SIG”). Something to think about.
As many of you are aware, most Goldman applicants are interviewed at least 20 times before they are made an offer and some more than 30. To that end, a couple months back we instituted a new series re: what to expect during various rounds of your GS vetting. The last time we met, we discussed what a candidate “auditioning” (that’s what they call it at GS) had to look forward to in round 15: role-playing. Today, we’ve made it to the big 2-7. By this point you’re probably getting pretty cocky and have some level of assurance you’ll get the job, which is exactly what they want you to think. Then they hit you with a 1-2 punch you definitely wouldn’t have seen coming unless you’d read it here first. Any chop-shop can ask some stupid question about basketballs and cows but GS has taken the “how good a problem-solver is s/he” model to the next level. According to footage obtained via a camera we stashed in a potted plant of a conference room at 200 West, the first thing they’re going to ask you (and at this stage in the game it’s probably Gary Cohn doing the questioning) is, “Do you have any experience as a mascot?” The correct answer is “No, but I like dancing around in front of my mirror.” Then they’re gonna ask you to get into a suit and turn on some music. ‘Cause they wanna see you sweat. Read more »
He’s a celebrity economist with alleged ties to some of the most dangerous women in the world. He’s got plaster vulvas on his walls. He parties with George Soros. On the outside, he’s got it all. And yet there’s still one thing Nouriel Roubini longs for. It’s a dream, really, that keeps him up all night and plagues him ’til the early hours of the morning. And that dream is to become the best lay this town has ever seen. As he is deadly serious about this goal, Dr. Doom is broadcasting it on the pages of the Financial Times. He’s willing to put in as many hours as it takes but he needs you to help him get there. So give him all you got. Weird things, embarrassing things, things you could get arrested for. If you don’t have anything to offer re: banging, he’ll accept whatever you’ve got on riding horses but it’s not preferable. Help him out on this one and maybe down the road he’ll hook you up. Read more »
[Warren Buffett and Bill Gates at the Hollywood Diner in Omaha, picking up the check and "dessert."]
Budding White Collar Criminals: Unless You Want To Have Your Ass Thrown In Solitary Confinement, You Will Listen To Every Damn Word Jeff Skilling Has To Say
By Bess Levin
Jeff Skilling was once president of a company that (claimed to) rake in over $100 billion annually. Now he’s had to kiss carbs good-bye (“You don’t want to get sick in here,” he said, as he talked about practicing yoga, walking four miles a day, and avoiding carbohydrate-heavy meals to stay fit) and beg reporters visiting him in the joint to buy him a cup of coffee.
Ninety minutes into our meeting, Skilling lowered his eyes to the floor. “I apologize for asking,” he said, embarrassment in his voice. “Could you buy me a cup of coffee? Inmates aren’t allowed to touch money or approach the machines. They could put me in solitary for a week.”
As I got his French-vanilla latte and recovered from astonishment that a man who had led a $110 billion company was not allowed to handle two quarters, I took the opportunity to get more personal, asking, “What is life like in jail? What is the scariest part of being here?”
You wanna avoid this fate, which likely also includes asking Bubba’s permission to have the night off? Skillings got some tips for avoiding unsolicited tips on the inside. Read more »
You want him to just flush the financial reform bill down the toilet? Shut it about bonuses, unless he’s telling Main Street how deserved they are? Take note: plying him with Duff’s wings and compliments on his ass will get you far. Read more »
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SoFi Answers the Call to Refinance Student Loans and Provides Unique Community Benefits
This is a guest post written by SoFi’s CEO, Mike Cagney.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Recently, there’s been a lot of talk amongst leaders in Washington about how to improve the painful process of repaying student loans. At SoFi, we feel your pain and work hard to offer more flexible, more affordable options for our borrowers. One idea that’s getting a lot of attention is increasing the options for refinancing debt after graduation. The only lender currently focused on refinancing private and federal student loans is SoFi.
We recognized early on that borrowers who have made timely payments on their loans, graduated from school, and have a job should be able to refinance their student loans at a lower interest rate. This may be why, after resuming lending by invitation, the media became increasingly interested in what we are doing.
In a recent article posted on MainStreet.com SoFi General Counsel Rob Lavet had this to say about SoFi’s ReFi products: Read more »
You know what they say: You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your financial planner. Or something like that. One of the great things of being in charge of your money is choosing who (if anyone) will help you manage it. The choice isn’t always an easy one. How will you know that your planner is reputable and trustworthy?
These five red flags may be good indications of whether the financial planner sitting across from you is someone you should trust with your money. LearnVest Planning also provides an innovative 7-step program for your money where you work one-on-one with a financial planner. To see if this program is right for you, start with a free financial consultation.
1. She Isn’t Certified
“There are a lot of good planners out there who aren’t Certified Financial Panners™,” says Samantha Vient, CFP®, of LearnVest Planning Services. “However, CFPs® are required to adhere to the CFP® Board’s standards of professional conduct.We believe it’s always a good idea to work with someone who has the CFP® designation, which is issued after completing a CFP® Board-approved personal financial planning curriculum, passing a rigorous exam issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, meeting experience requirements and passing an ethics and background check.
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