Do "famous" bankers and wall street professionals have personal security? Or do they move around freely
I fairly regularly see the CEO of my bank waiting in line at Starbucks or Dunkin near my offices.
Honestly the first time i saw it kinda surprised me, this is a guy who heads a multinational with trillions of dollars in assets and is kinda a sitting duck, nonetheless, he isn't really a household name outside of finance journalists and people who work with my bank.
The thought then crossed my mind, I wonder if Warren Buffet, Bill Ackman, Ken Griffin, Jamie Dimon or Lloyd Blankfein ever just step out in public in NYC and go about their day. Obviously not Buffet anymore since he's in his 90s but you get the idea.
The thought of my CEO walking around flanked by bodyguards seems silly to me but at the same time also reasonable.
Those of you who work for top BB's and companies and have been exposed to the names above, did you ever see them outside the office building flanked by one or two body guards or do they just walk around and even use the subway alone.
I feel like whatever answer I get will surprise me.
Depends on the company and role. I know executives of meaningless organizations with security teams because they have higher threat levels to them in particular, while other CEOs have none at all.
It's usually a personal decision.
Some CEOs in our group have their buildings (offices or their homes) secured, but no personal detail for themselves or their families. That was seen as sufficient. We don't get many (credible) threats. The threats we do get are often against the corporation, not always against the staff directly.
During my BB days I had the same question and I then realized: our CEOs and their first line always went to the basement where their drivers were waiting. Once the car leaves nobody would know who is in which car (all look same, tinted windows, plates change and no car is designated to a certain manager as it is a fleet). This is fairly safe already.
But I have seen our CEOs at the local Starbucks, I don't think anybody recognized them.
I saw Bill Ackman out walking his dog at 9pm one night near central park. He appeared alone but the more i think about it (and after watching latest Sucession episode) I have to think he has someone tailing him discreetly
I forgot to mention i've literally seen Rudy Giuliani around manhattan walking around with what looked like zero security detail i'm pretty sure. The mob must be really dead if he does that regularly
That’s interesting and a good example of these things boiling down to personality. Knowing what is known about Giuliani, it’s of course reasonable to think he wouldn’t want security. Just not his style.
I know a much less famous person (a former judge, now law firm partner) who was also involved in pushing out the mob in NYC. That person has security everywhere.
Having studied Ackman more than I like to admit (I used to think he was someone who was worth “getting inside their head to see how they think”) I actually think he’s the type of personality to not want security tailing him. He places a high value on what’s been sometimes called “productive laziness” ie letting your mind wander randomly and he kind of feels like living day to day a bit aimlessly is crucial to developing good contrarian ideas. I think having security watching him would disrupt that. I’ve also seen him a few times around town and they were situations where it would be pretty hard for security to follow. It’s always possible but I’d put him in the Giuliani camp, I think he just doesn’t want it.
I think some people do it for the ego boost. I used to work in an office building where Al Sharpton had his office. He was always heavily flanked and when he’d leave for the day, getting into his car was almost a ceremony. He’d wait inside, car would pull up and his two monster guards would stand on either side of the door while he walks past them like a king taking the throne.
Alternatively I know two billionaires, one in a mid sized city where he’s the 2nd richest person in town, and the other in a very small city where he’s by far the richest. And both of them are around town regularly, eating lunch at the same spots every day etc, with no security at all. Not tailing them or anything. Houses very secure but nothing else. A lot of people just don’t want that.
Intern in my group was the son of the CEO and HE had bodyguards. Overkill imo
You must be joking dude no way, how famous is his dad?
Kinda? Worth hundreds of mils too. Tbf people (colleagues) said that it's because it's way riskier for him to get kidnapped and get a ransom out of his dad, so it makes sense for the kid to have guards than the rich dad
I think the need for bodyguards is less a function of your wealth vs how public you are and how many people you have potentially pissed off to get said wealth. I know a couple former IB rainmakers in the 3 comma club neither of whom have personal security when they're out and about because they're not well-known figures and are unlikely to be targeted. Folks like Kenny G for certain have a security detail, along with Bloomberg, Gates, etc. because they've made themselves more visible in the public eye which comes with major drawbacks when you're promoting extremely unpopular policies. Then of course there are some paranoid people who think they need it just because they're rich and want to keep a barrier between themselves and the rabble.
Unless I'm mistaken 3 comma club is a billionaire? Rainmakers as billionares?
Yeah, a lot of the guys who have started some of the top firms are billionaires. Think Moelis, Perella, Quattrone, etc
Yes. Guys who were partners when firms like GS went public made an absolute killing. Plus when you become the rainmaker at a large cap firm you're keeping a very respectable chunk of fees for yourself because if they DON'T pay you through the nose you can very easily leave and open your own shop, taking all your clients with you - which is what guys like Moelis, Perella, and Quattrone eventually did.
I would be surprised if Buffet doesn't still just go about his day regularly, just in Omaha instead of NYC.
I was about to say, who is honestly going to Omaha
Mike Tyson has security detail. I’ve always wondered why someone like him would need it.
So if there's a problem, Mike Tyson isn't the one getting sued for knocking someone out.
Haha true. And I figured that after I hit send.
Years ago a buddy of mine and I saw Snoop Dogg at MGM in Vegas playing at a Black Jack table. My dumb drunk buddy went up to him like, “Sup snoop! I still have your Doggystyle CD!” among some other things. Snoop grabbed his chips and left the table abruptly. We left, and Snoop return to his spot next to some homies. My buddy wanted to go back and be like, “not sure why you dissed me when all I did was give you props on your CD.” But encouraged him not to. Snoop wouldn’t have done anything, but he could have nodded to his homie to rectify the situation.
Security is also just a way of keeping people from flocking you asking for pictures or autographs, not everyone is trying to hurt you, but if you're famous enough people will still crowd you.
Because pretty much everyone in the US knows he is rich. Maybe 1% of the US knows who a random MM bank CEO is. So Mike tyson has 100x more threats
Random, but I was at an event two weeks ago. Tom Segura (comedian) was there and he very clearly had 3 body guards. I didn’t think his comedy was the type to piss anyone off really so was a bit surprised to see that
We look after TMT partners, a lot of them in entertainment. You wouldn't believe the number of credible threats coming in for anyone on TV, film, comedy, and standup. Some deranged stalker follow them home, know where their kids go to school, and more crazy stuff like that.
In a way, banking is way more anonymous.
In a way, I both would love and hate to have fame.
It's nice to know that your name may live on after you die but you'd never be able to have a normal life again.
Optimal solution would be to acquire fame in your late 70s - maybe a presidential run in your late 70s.
I know that Abigail Johnson of Fidelity fame uses the tube when she's in London.
She usually has someone tailing her.
I'm sure plenty of them do have at least one on payroll. But they can afford the level of professional where you'd never realize that's why they're really there. Not to mention I'm sure plenty have some of them follow them to work at most or just stay back and watch the home 24/7 so you never even know they exist in the first place. To be fair, outside of our world, they typically are fairly anonymous so it's not like high profile politicians or entertainers who have upwards of three guards on them 24/7. AKA the big dude in a suit at all times where it's obvious what they do as a deterrent.
I ran into Ken Moelis once at a concert venue. He was with his family, seemed like maybe they were celebrating something. I didn't notice any security with him. We talked pretty briefly about the band and they all left shortly thereafter.
I walked behind Jamie Dimon once in midtown. He had one security guy with him though the guy didn't exactly look like the Rock lol
I stood behind Tim Geithner at the UrbanSpace in Midtown. He was President of Warburg Pincus at the time, and looked to be alone while ordering Thai food. One guy shook his hand and kept moving. He's shorter in person.
Not sure if Dimon does but wouldn’t be surprised if he did given how public he is. For whatever reason we’d end up walking into the office around the same time most days when I was at JPM. He’d just roll up to HQ in a black suburban and just walk right in. He’d usually say hello to the people at the front desk but wouldn’t acknowledge anyone else and just make a bee line for the elevator.
I had lunch with a billionaire energy CEO. He was giving a talk at a private club and I didn't see security present but it could have been. Their offices are on a regular city block in Dallas and don't appear overly secure but I imagine they at least have locked doors and whatnot.
What was interesting is during lunch he was talking about what he had going on that day and he mentioned having a team who opens his mail for him because of threats he has received. Obviously energy/pipeline executives receive a certain amount of disdain from some segments of the population.
All that to say, I imagine most people in those positions assess threats in terms of most likely to be actually carried out and adjust accordingly.
My gf works in an office complex that has been in the news lately because of a certain Supreme Court Justice. They have 24/7 armed security all over the campus. I believe they have some additional hidden security measures because my car keys/keyless ignition always wig out and seem blocked/interfered with when I park in a certain area. I imagine security will be stepped up given the recent publicity.
Unrelated, but my office is across the street from a Catholic Diocese and their parking structure is quite secure and I have seen police/armed security with some regularity.
At one of the big AMs - Not that I’m aware of domestically, but the execs that reside in Mexico City absolutely have a security detail. Anyone who goes there on business has an armed driver and is briefed on what to do if they get kidnapped.
I live in Mexico City, and while this is true, I actually find it unnecessary for most people who have bodyguards. I used to work at a BB bank in Mexico, and from MD level and up, some had a Suburban with an armed driver. The CEO arrived in his Range Rover, followed by a Suburban, which made more sense. But for MDs, it seemed unnecessary—nobody outside the firm even knows who they are. They probably just attract more attention by having security.
It sometimes gets even more ridiculous. I know people who’ve never been kidnapped, but just to be safe, their parents give them a regular car that’s bulletproof (like a bulletproof Toyota Corolla LOL). Some of these people have a net worth of around a million, maybe less than 2M USD, and they don’t need security whatsoever because no one even knows who they are.
In my experience, most people with security details don’t actually need them, it’s often more for show, and banks or firms tend to exaggerate the need. For example, I’ve attended weddings where two well known billionaires were present. One of them isn't that famous, but the other is and tweets daily, speaking out very viciously against both the government and drug cartels. Neither had visible bodyguards. I also went to school with the children and grandchildren of three other billionaires and they only had drivers with what I assume were bulletproof SUVs. No bodyguards either. High-level security in major LATAM cities isn’t as crucial as some might think, especially for random MDs no one outside the firm gives two shits about.
I'd say most people at that level don't want to be famous because they don't want to deal with the hassle; which is how most people would probably want to be (not famous but rich.)
I'd say that people have security because other people come up to them for two reasons:
1. They get mobbed by fans. Someone like Taylor Swift probably needs security everywhere because fans will come up to her in panic.
2. As mentioned above, someone like Mike Tyson. Mainly because, there is probably some low life loser in every town trying to make a name for themselves and would sucker punch him, so he needs someone watching his back.
Would bankers need security, maybe in times of crisis when they are in the news for bad things. It's like anything else in the USA, no one pays attention to want really matters. I always think its funny how athletics or rock stars get mobbed by woman, when it would prob be a better probability to try and grab a banker.
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