29-year Old Banker Commits Suicide

Very, very sad.

I was also surprised at how messed up the comments section was. Do people really hate bankers that much? It sounds like he was a young guy that cracked under the pressure (obviously total conjecture).

I think it is tough to blame something like this solely on a job. There were probably other mental health issues at play that did not go well with the lifestyle.

Yea the comment section at ZH is especially cynical / brutal. It's funny, you never see headlines for the hundreds of other people who committed suicide today. The second someone is seen as being successful the world rejoices when something bad happens. Gotta love humanity.

This is just awful. No parent should have to bury their child (even one who is already an adult, but a young adult no less with an entire life in front of him).

I agree I don't think it's solely the job, although the stress and environment in a workplace can certainly create triggers for someone who may have been more susceptible to clinical or severe depression. Mental health issues unfortunately still carry a huge stigma, especially amongst guys, which leads to medicating it in the worst way possible (alcohol, narcotics, then suicide).

Just sad news.

The scum of the world really comes out in those comments.

RIP. The problem with trying to relate this to one's work is that it's pure speculation. WE have no clue what was going on not only in this man's life, but also what was going on in his head. Cases like these are a lot more complicated than simply stating "banking hours/stress is killing people", and that's not to attack you OP, just stating a fact.

Employers should pay more attention to employee mental health and provide whatever support necessary. It's just sad to see a young man go like that. Same problem with that Germanwings co-pilot suicide.

Damn those comments are stunningly cold-blooded.

This is a tragedy. Whether or not this is directly caused by work, we shouldn't have a culture that sneers at mental health problems and venerates unhealthily demanding work habits.

Hopefully senior bankers will get the clue and implement reforms to make sure that juniors step down from the ledge in the future. No need for 40-hour workweeks, but we definitely shouldn't be pushing people to commit suicide either.

The comments... what the f?

Also, why do they imply so heavily that there is correlation between Investment Banking and suicide? Feels like the article and the comments were written by cold-blooded people who are butthurt or something along the lines. Besides, drugs have very little to do with suicide - the opinions expressed on the matter are clearly not educated.

May he rest in peace!

This sucks, but it wasn't because of work. Moelis is supposedly tough, but quitting can be done by walking out through the front door instead of jumping off the top floor. Besides, he's been in the business for a while to make associate, why let it get to him now? Life is always worth living, moreso as someone with the pedigree and financial freedom to exit into any industry or interest he would have liked. 29 is far too young to look back and say "I have wasted my life." He could have done so much more with it. RIP.

Do people really say "committed a suicide?"

I can't imagine that being an actual phrase.

As sad is this is for the work environment of banking, let's take a moment to think about how life traumatizing this was for the lady just driving by. A man just falls out the sky and nearly lands on your SUV and head gets decapitated. Your going to be suing the guys estate just to cover your mental therapy bills.

Very sad story. Those comments were disgusting and disturbing. The people posting them were some seriously ignorant dick heads. It is satisfying to know that they are most likely living some very miserable existences to say some of the things mentioned.

That comment section is literally the most retarded shit I have seen online since browsing /b/ in middle school with my friends.

RIP

Horrible when something like this happens. RIP.

The comments are always terrible on that site. I try to minimize my Zero Hedge viewing to once a week because of the frequent questionable postings in combination with their associated comments. Excluding the legitimate finance community who frequents the site, Zero Hedge seems to gather a cesspool of an audience ranging from Neonazis to anarchists. It's no wonder why such an ignorant group of shit bags would spew hatred toward a deceased person that they never knew.

Those who are depressed and suicidal suffer from a chemical imbalance in their brains. No doubt that certain high stress work or school environments are not healthy for people with an underlying mental health issue but I hate to see the rush to declare a cause or trigger. Every life is precious and every loss a tragedy.

The only enjoyable thing about zerohedge is reading the stories of people who somehow lost money during the great bull market because they followed its advice.

What a bunch of wankers. I honestly couldn't give a fuck what your career is but no one deserves that shit. Taking your life through suicide seems like an escape from the inescapable, and it's sad. Somewhere out there, there was something that could have been done to help this guy.

Those comments sum up exactly what scum is to me.

I'd still be curious to hear what his exact group/specialization was.

Word through the grapevine is that the various "suicides" concentrated among traders is NOT a coincidence.

Fuck Zero Hedge.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/29/wolf-of-wall-street-style-coke-party-at-ju…

It's really sad. A guy died, and all the articles do is vilify him and paint grotesque pictures. I'm frankly disgusted. I know auditors that do coke, artists that do acid, etc. Yet because this guy was a banker they chose to focus on his prep school and cocaine. Not the fact that he was probably having some serious internal struggle. It's sad. These authors and editors and papers should all get fined and sued for how classless they have all been

Those article comments just gave me a fresh burst of misanthropy

RIP

This is a tragedy and the comments on Zero Hedge are just so mean and vicious. I'd be curious as to whether he was a trader or a I banker and if so what group was he in as an I banker at Moelis. This act must have been gruesome and very painful for any of the witnesses that were not far from this incident. RIP.

That comment section on ZH makes WSO look like the most proper batch of well raised and etiquette-loving people ever

RIP

I'm on vacation in Jamaica right now and even though you couldn't get me to touch IBD with a ten foot pole , I found myself contemplating about the overall stress level/nastiness of some people that is intrinsically embedded in finance.

Maybe I'm just one of the fucked up/soft ones that is very attenuated to a persons emotional intelligence and think morale and quality of life are high on the must haves for a successful team

There's a reason they call the comments section the bottom half of the internet. Read at your own risk.

Terrible news. As I witnessed with military suicides, people try to draw conclusions they shouldn't and generalize, and who knows what the poor guy was going through. All I'm sure of is that 29 is too young, and that sucks. RIP

Damn, RIP

So sad to hear

RIP. Poor guy shouldn't be getting disrespected like he is.

Fuck zero hedge , I'm not a sensitive person at all but Jesus Christ man this is over the top with the comments. People have that much hate in them wow, just sick

Is it time to set up a hotline like ICAEW? http://www.icaew.com/members/local-support-and-services/support-members…

Are all of ZeroHedge's articles written like that? I can't stand dehumanization in reports on someone's death, and the tone is pretty 4chan-esque...

It is scary that the average person that you pass down the streets on a dialy basis has this perception of bankers. RIP - horrible.

Somebody needs to educate the public on what a "banker" actually does. I haven't read comments this hateful since scrolling through videos of Isis on LiveLeak/YouTube

I bet common Americans would think differently if they realized that their employment status may very well hinge on the existence and past actions of banks.

Reading Zero Hedge is a waste of precious time

Comments on Zero Hedge are pretty sickening.

I guess we should all take a moment to appreciate everyone in our lives because you just never know who is going through unbearable trials in life.

Zero hedge - brutal to the max, although those people commenting are probably bitter sitting at home collecting handouts and complaining about how people who work hard make too much money. Fuck them. RIP.

Just imagine the type of people who have time to make comments on a conspiracy theory site.

Just avoid ZH, and basically avoid comments on the Internet in general.

Did anybody read this piece by ARS:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/business/dealbook/reflections-on-stre…

Sad stories. Hope their families can find peace.

I think Trevor from GTA5 sums up the ZH readership.

Tom was a good friend.

The things that people are writing about him online are terrible and untrue. Tom was nothing like the image that is being projected onto him of some heartless money-mongering douche. He was kind, whip-smart, and had the absolute best laugh of anyone, ever. He was a wonderful soul and it hurts me to think of the pain he must have been going through to take his own life.

Social class has nothing to do with pain and suffering. Drugs are usually a symptom, not a cause. What happened is tragic and I am unspeakably sad for both Tom and his family. Rest in peace Tommy boy.

wow, I am just in awe at the comments section....literally zero f*cks given about the guy!

the article was a downer.. but the comments section made me feel even worse.. the commentators probably all have a victim mentality.. but the industry needs to fix this issue.. I did not even try for IB (not that banks were waiting for me or anything) because there is no amount of money that would make me spend all of the best years of my life as a completely expendable office drone.. I think that is what leads to mid-life crisis eventually - realizing that no amount of money can make your youth come back..

Another article on the matter this time a much better write up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/business/dealbook/reflections-on-stre…

Those comments in the article are just atrocious. Very sad that people would say that. It does bring up a very important question for investment bankers--the BANKER IMAGE. Bankers suspend humanity and decency in favor of money and self-promotion. I know that isn't true for the majority of bankers but that is the perception. The industry is still incredibly unpopular. How are we going to change that?