From non-target to BB CEO: My story

Mod Note (Andy): #TBT Throwback Thursday - this was originally posted on 11/25/13. Check out @DickFuld"'s current Q&A here. To see all of our top content from the past, click here.

I was like many of you at one point in my life. I was a non-target student with big dreams. Luckily, I was an extraordinary networker and worked my way into Lehman on the commercial paper desk. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I breathed the CP market and built a reputation from an early age as someone you should not fuck with.

Fixed income was becoming the lifeblood of our firm and I was at the epicenter of it. Lew Glucksman was a God at our firm. He had his office at the center of our trading floor and used to smoke cigars in his little glass encased office. Usually only coming out to yell at someone for botching a trade. (side note: he once became so angry that he kicked a trash can during the middle of the day and shattered the glass wall of his office) Lew was determined to show these fancy investment bankers how real money was made and he did. He eventually became the CEO, which was virtually unheard of at the time. Traders didn't become CEOs, but times were changing rapidly. I wanted to be him. I bled Lehman green through and through.

I stuck through the firm through the roughest of times. The first wave of shit was when we were bought by American Express. These people really didn't know what to do with us. They sold charge cards and we made mountains of money trading bonds. It was a horrible fit and we all wanted out. We eventually got our wish and spun out in 1994 with me as the CEO. 1998 was another tough time for us...the god damned short sellers were out to get us with the LTCM debacle. We were liquid with solid financials, but they were looking to take us down, but we weathered the storm and it made us stronger. The 2001 terrorist attacks nearly ruined us again, but we pulled together as a team and our clients rewarded us again.

My goal was for Lehman to be the top investment bank in the world and in many respects, that's what we became. But, first, we had to grow and invest in the other parts of our business to give us a more balanced approach to printing money. I invested heavily in the equities business and we sat atop the Institutional Investor equity research rankings for years. I invested heavily in our banking business and we did well there too. I built up an Asset Management franchise that was capped off by our purchase of Neuberger Berman in 2003. We were a globally diversified company that could provide expertise to virtually any financial problem. Our stock outperformed all of the other investment banks and almost every financial company out there. I was named CEO of the year multiple times because of our success in providing liquidity and solutions to our clients.

As you surely know by now, not everything turned out perfectly for us. We were in a similar position to the other banks in 2007, but the world started coming apart. Politics would eventually be the end of Lehman. Hank Paulson was determined to get us, he was so envious of what we accomplished and didn't want to see us dethrone his beloved Goldman Sachs, which we were all but certain to do. We also had the brother and the cousin of the POTUS on our payroll, which didn't help. So, they made us fail.

Ultimately, do I feel responsibility for what happened? Yes, I do. I will remember what happened for as long as I'm still breathing and I'm sorry that I let down my employees (who I consider family), our clients, and our shareholders. That being said, I'll never forgive those bastards (Paulson, Geithner, Bush) for what they did to the company we all loved. Anyway, there have been a lot of negative things said about me, so I just wanted to get the truth out there.

-- Dick

(PS -- nobody ever hit me in the company locker room, that was a lie designed to sell newspapers)

 

Hmmm... Harvey Specter working with Dick Fuld...an intriguing idea indeed. Imagine Harvey along side Dick as his partner and trusted counsel. Together they seek to rebuild the Lehman empire from the ashes, rehabilitate the Fuld name and prove to Jessica that Harvey is managing partner material after all. All the while as they face off against the unholy trinity of the SEC, the Justice Department and Daniel Hartman.

I'd much rather watch this show than the nonsensical saga involving Hessington Oil, Edward Darby etc. So Mr. Fuld, would you be interested to make a lateral move to showbiz and starr as yourself? You never know, sometimes life imitates art...Please do make sure that Louise and Katrina (not Mike pls!) get to make cross-over appearances one in a while.

Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep.
 
brandon st randy:

This is getting out of hand. Can someone at WSO verify the OP's identity?
To Mr. Fuld, if it really is you, what is your opinion on Mark Walsh?

Mark's the best real estate guy in the business, period.  Fair to say the SunCal deal didn't turn out great, but literally nobody saw that coming.  It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, but it's a lot harder to actually play the game.
 

This is a really fascinating post. What was it that killed Lehman specifically? I had heard a rumor that when Lehman needed cash to pay for its debt and a couple of rival banks (I think specifically Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, I've heard) were holding securities and cash that Lehman owned, but would not allow it to access them, thus forcing the firm into bankruptcy (despite solvency). Can you shed some light on this? Is it based in truth, or complete and utter bunk?

 
Leveraged Bailout:

This is a really fascinating post. What was it that killed Lehman specifically? I had heard a rumor that when Lehman needed cash to pay for its debt and a couple of rival banks (I think specifically Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, I've heard) were holding securities and cash that Lehman owned, but would not allow it to access them, thus forcing the firm into bankruptcy (despite solvency). Can you shed some light on this? Is it based in truth, or complete and utter bunk?

There were some real problems that were short term in nature. Our mortgage book was fully hedged, so that wasn't the problem. We were at war and some of our competitors couldn't win a fair fight, so they spread rumors about our liquidity and some even pulled lines of credit on us. It was ugly people playing ugly games. I already mentioned my distaste for Paulson and how he misled us. We had great branding with him, but he caved to political pressure at the time. The guy's a fuckin' pussy and I'll never forgive him.
 

Screw Warren Buffett.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 
DickFuld:
Simple As...:

How'd you feel about Jimmy Woods being chosen to portray you in Too Big To Fail? Who would you have chosen?

I don't watch movies and I don't know who Jimmy Woods is.

//www.youtube.com/embed/DI-kTuJLSrk

[quote=patternfinder]Of course, I would just buy in scales. [/quote] See my WSO Blog | my AMA
 

Are some of you guys really dumb enough to think this is actually Dick Fuld? Have you read any of his other posts?

Still a funny writeup though.

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

"do I feel responsibility for what happened? Yes"

FAKE

The real Dick Fuld only cares about himself. He needs to man up and own that whole thing, it's the only way to not look like a whiney bitch blaming everyone else for his problems. Stop blaming the gov't for not bailing LEH out. Stop blaming Goldman for managing their risk better. Stop blaming every goddamn thing except the dumb mistakes (40x leverage on speculative positions???) you made. And really, please, for the love of pearl, stop blaming the buy side. Of course they're going after a company when they smell blood, it's what they do, and who's job is it to hold things down when the sharks are circling? And why are they there in the first place?

Sorry to be so mean, but really.

Get busy living
 

@UFOInsider

You have no idea what you're talking about. You've never been to war like me. It's a jungle out there and people couldn't face me head on, so they played dirty. We were a group of underdogs who fought our way to the top and the ingrained players were scared shitless that we were going to eat their lunch. So, they shut us down through rumors and the government did absolutely nothing to stop it. They should be ashamed of themselves. No bank can survive the death-spiral that results from a crisis of confidence, not even the great Lehman Brothers. Freedom of speech does not mean you can yell 'fire' in a crowded room and that's exactly what happened to us.

 

Whatever happened to the Dick Fuld that punched a superior officer in the face? Sure you're not supposed to but it's one of the reasons I wanted to work at your shop after school. I respected you because you were a MAN. Now we're hearing "you don't know what it's like".....SO TELL ME, I WANT TO KNOW.

For years now, all I've heard you say is "look at what these people did to us", while being content to hold on to your cash. You acted like a bitch in a divorce. All we heard from you was "poor me, oh look at how mean everyone is".

FUCK YOU.

If you're the real Dick, I want to know what happened to you. You had balls. You were mean. You were tough. You were smart. Everyone was saying that LEH was going to eclipse GS, if they hadn't already. You were a fucking MAN. Now all I hear is excuses. I want to know what the hell happened to the guy I looked up to and wanted to work for.

Dick. Seriously. What happened?

Get busy living
 

I'm not divorced. Listen, I'm sure I sound paranoid. But, just because you sound paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't looking over your shoulder. Those bastards were out to get me and nearly brought down the economy to do so. Literally the only major firm to go bankrupt was Lehman, you can't tell me that's a coincidence.

Also, nobody can ever claim that I kept all my cash. I had most of my net worth in LEH and lost nearly $1 billion. I was a true believer.

 
holla_back:

Why is everyone acting like a regular WSO poster is actually Dick Fuld?

Shh. You're missing the point.
Currently: future neurologist, current psychotherapist Previously: investor relations (top consulting firm), M&A consulting (Big 4), M&A banking (MM)
 

Dick, this is the one forum on earth that's really going to understand you. Go into detail. Never mind my tone, I just wanted to make sure I had your attention.

Why do you think LEH was singled out? And how were you even in that position?

Get busy living
 
UFOinsider:
Why do you think LEH was singled out?
I've already mentioned why. Hank fucking Paulson had it out for us because he was worried that we would overtake the number one spot from his baby, Goldman Sachs. We also had two relatives of GWB on our payroll, which made it difficult to help Lehman from a political standpoint. It's all politics. We really didn't want to help out during the LTCM crisis and some people used that as a chance for vengeance on us. We didn't do as much business with LTCM as the others did, so we shouldn't have chipped in as much as the other guys. It wasn't right. People have no morals anymore.
 

Sooooo, an administration known for inbreeding and nepotism didn't help a company with their relatives on the payroll but they permitted Hank Paulson to hook up his favorite firm? More to the point, how were you guys even in that position? Maybe you really were captain of the Titanic, I get it, but at least go into detail.

To be honest, here's what a lot of us are looking for:

Without a "YOU'RE GOD DAMN RIGHT I DID IT" moment, a lot of us really just think you're telling the story in a way that indicates hiding from some type of guilt or legal liability.

Get busy living
 

We told the head of our investment management division (GWB's cousin) to call GWB to open up the Fed window. He didn't pick up the phone and I know it's because Paulson told him not to.

I have nothing to hide, which is why I'm here getting the truth out. If it makes you sleep at night, I'll be your bad guy who you can lay blame on for all your problems. But, you're only fooling yourself.

 

It says "John Paulson" in the OP. I call shenanigans.

"They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of your guys to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way.
 

John Paulson? LOL. GWB's cousin didn't call Bush directly on his personal line? You're saying that Hank Paulson had more influence with George than his own cousin? I call bullshit.

Get busy living
 
UFOinsider:
GWB's cousin didn't call Bush directly on his personal line? You're saying that Hank Paulson had more influence with George than his own cousin? I call bullshit.
that's exactly right. Look, who has more influence over you on a day to day basis? Your boss/co-workers or a cousin you've seen twice in the past 13 years? Get a grip.
 

This is about you, the former CEO and not me, the faceless slave. Let's keep it straight. So you're saying you didn't even try? Wow. You're saying that GWB's cousin had no influence? Are you retarded? He was on a first name basis with the president at the time. How can you not take advantage of that? Do you really expect anyone to agree with you on that point? I'd have to be retarded to see things your way. Whatever dude.

That's not even the main event: how did you guys even let things get to that point? Why did the firm even need help? Did you just suck at your job? Did you get arrogant and lazy?

Get busy living
 

I am on a first name basis with GWB. So that's not really a massive achievement.

On a different note, the "well everyone was doing it" excuse is a fucking joke.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

@ Dick - I never heard you just acknowledge that your firm took too much risk and left their position vulnerable. I never heard you acknowledge on any level that some of that may have been your fault. You can't say you feel responsible without actually taking responsibility. All you've done is try to save face...and that's your problem. Despite what the twits in Washington think, risk taing is actually acceptable in this business, so I wouldn't fault you. None of us would.

Here's what's bothering me: you've done everything you can to make everything everyone else's fault after your company was weakened. THAT's why I'm annoyed with you. If you could man up and just say "hey, I screwed up, I thought our risk profile was ok" or "Hey, I knew we were taking too much risk but I figured we could exit the market in time" or even "yeah, I got totally blindsided", then I could respect you. Instead, all you do is talk about how everyone reacted after things started going bad. You hide behind politics, and you're not even that good at it.

This is about redemption and of course it's uncomfortable, but until you confront this no one will believe you. It's not about a crisis of confidence in the company at this point, it's about a lack of confidence in YOU. You're not a bogeyman to me, I understand full well that things were fucked in 2007. Actually, I think you're a victim on several levels, legitimately. One, you were a victim to making mistakes as a CEO. Two, a victim to everyone else in finance who pounced on LEH. And Three, a victim of Washington. You've discussed the second and third point but you can not come to terms with point one and that is the root of the rage against you. So be it. And so be it if you're "done with me". It really makes no difference at this point.

Until you deal with that first point though: Wall Street is done with you.

Get busy living
 

Go ahead and live in your little bubble and denounce people who actually played the game. We were in a similar risk position to every other investment bank out there at the time. You need to feed at the trough when the getting is good otherwise you're out the door. We did what we had to do to stay competitive and increase our market share. You would have done the same thing, but you wouldn't have executed as well as I did. All the people that want to demonize me are the same ones that called me CEO of the year just a couple of years earlier. It's just people who have no idea what they're talking about trying to sell papers. And it works. But, it doesn't mean they're right. Even after all the shit I went through, I'm still a wealthy man, I couldn't care less if Wall Street is done with me or not. I wouldn't work there in this overworked and underpaid environment anyway. I mean, there are no bulge bracket investment banks even left, they're all commercial banks. Bobby Lehman would have rather seen us perish than become a commercial bank.

 
DickFuld:
I'm still a wealthy man, I couldn't care less if Wall Street is done with me or not. I wouldn't work there in this overworked and underpaid environment anyway.
Aren't you doing some boutique banking? "Nonetheless, there was Fuld on May 30, in a dark suit and crisp shirt, front and center at the Marcum MicroCap Conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, where GlyEco was among the companies promoting “investment opportunities.” A little more than five years after negotiating Lehman’s mammoth $22 billion joint acquisition of apartment developer Archstone-Smith, Fuld was pushing a penny stock.” http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-12/where-is-dick-fuld-now-…
 
DickFuld:
We did what we had to do to stay competitive and increase our market share. You would have done the same thing, but you wouldn't have executed as well as I did.

Mr Fuld, What makes an execution good or poor?

How did you made Lehman Brothers stand out from the competition while having the same strategy as the others?

 
DickFuld:
I mean, there are no even left, they're all commercial banks. Bobby Lehman would have rather seen us perish than become a commercial bank.
What do you mean by that? Are you talking about the post crisis regulations?
 

Say what you want Dick, you're just a punk. No amount of money will change that. When you can give a straight answer, you'll be worthy of respect again.

Until then, I'm not angry at you. I'm just really disappointed. Say it aint' so.

Get busy living
 

Probably going to get shit on for this but here goes:

1) You're most likely a troll. Who writes a pseudo-apology/story about a rise to the top 6 years later? 2) Even if you are "Dick Fuld", you sound like a beta male. "I breathed the CP market and built a reputation from an early age as someone you should not fuck with." Right. In commercial paper. Big man on the street. Watch out everyone. 3) It's not even an apology. You essentially just blame everyone else. Typical "CEO". You're worthless and half a man. That's the only truth in this article. Start taking responsibility for things instead of writing 6 years later about bullshit (that is, if it is "Dick Fuld" (terrible name by the way), which I highly doubt).

 
IlliniProgrammer:

Troll post from fake Dick Fuld successful.

Putting this on the FP was an important component to the troll.

I have no idea how this got to the FP.

Coming up next, a two parts series exclusively for WSO readers:

Part 1) Success Story: How I leveraged my Vietnam military experience to gain admission to a top MBA finance program
And part 2) Ask Me Anything: Post-MBA star bond trader at BB taking questions on S&T, exit opportunities and beyond

By Jon Stevens Corzine

Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep.
 
IlliniProgrammer:

Also Dick Fuld would know who Bridget was and what happened to Mike during the last year at the firm.

I don't even want to hear about Gelband. As far as I'm concerned Skip and Bart were traitors to the firm. Gelband just has sour grapes because I pushed him out the door. When pushed, he just couldn't produce. Sorry, the truth hurts.
 
DickFuld:

I don't even want to hear about Gelband. As far as I'm concerned Skip and Bart were traitors to the firm. Gelband just has sour grapes because I pushed him out the door.

No, in the context of Bridget, Mike is Mike Chu. Head of Research Analytics; about 600 front office employees between the 12th and 15th floors. You'd meet with him and Bridget O'Connor on a regular basis.
 
DickFuld:
I'll never forgive those bastards (Paulson, Geithner, Bush) for what they did to the company we all loved

You're referring to not bailing you out? Yea, it's called Capitalism.

 
companion:
DickFuld:

I'll never forgive those bastards (Paulson, Geithner, Bush) for what they did to the company we all loved

You're referring to not bailing you out? Yea, it's called Capitalism.

How I wish I was young and naive again. Let's talk about how Goldman was bailed out through the bailout of AIG and all the trades they had on with GS that they were magically able to make good on. We were singled out.
 
DickFuld:
companion:
DickFuld:

I'll never forgive those bastards (Paulson, Geithner, Bush) for what they did to the company we all loved

You're referring to not bailing you out? Yea, it's called Capitalism.

How I wish I was young and naive again. Let's talk about how Goldman was bailed out through the bailout of AIG and all the trades they had on with GS that they were magically able to make good on. We were singled out.

Well, we all know that Goldman Sachs' real name is Government Sachs. So it came at no surprise to most of us.

That being said, you should consider yourself lucky you worked during the heights of the 30 years run of the financial bubble.

 

It was pretty good up until this part...

DickFuld:

Ultimately, do I feel responsibility for what happened? Yes, I do. I will remember what happened for as long as I'm still breathing and I'm sorry that I let down my employees (who I consider family), our clients, and our shareholders.

Yeah, ok...
I mean, Richard Fuld, they had a private elevator. His driver would call Lehman Brothers at the front desk, and the front desk attendant would press a button, and one of the elevators in the southeast corner of the building would become frozen. A security guard would come over and hold it until Mr. Fuld arrived in the back door. He comes in through the back door, so there's only like 15 feet where King Richard Fuld is exposed to the rabble, I guess you'd call us.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec09/solmanlehman_09-14.h…
 

Uh..this is, in no way, strange. A lot of senior execs have private elevators and private parking areas. There are actual threats to their security that have to be considered. I'm not saying its right just that this is not at all uncommon.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

That's all well and good, but "Dick Fuld" is talking like he's all buddy-buddy with his employees, which is obviously not the case. If you're not even willing to share an elevator with employees (you can ride an elevator with others without compromising security if you're flanked by like 3 or 4 big, burly dudes), what does that convey to the "rabble"?

 

Nice post Fuld, keep up the good work. Great to see some top brass posting on WSO, should definitely give the site some decent publicity. Any chance you could also talk to some of your friends (Lloyd, Jamie, Steve, etc) to make accounts also? I could walk them through account registration, setting up a profile, choosing an avatar, etc.

Couple quick questions, especially considering how "people don't have morals anymore" (your words not mine):

1) How do you respond to having requested and received ~$20mn in "special payments" ie (bonuses) for three executives including yourself four days before the Lehman Bros threw in the towel? Does that reflect on your character at all?

2) How did you feel about Lehman's accounting fraud from your Repo 105 shenanigans which violated Sarbanes-Oxley and made your leverage ratios look better? Was this some sort of reflection of your "do not fuck with me" reputation?

3) How do you respond to a poll that named you worst American CEO of all time? http://www.cnbc.com/id/30502091/page/21

Keep fighting the good fight, Dick...we're gonna make it.

 
DickFuld:

1. Easy. We didn't think we were going under and we needed to retain top talent.

2. I don't know what you're talking about. As far as I know, our books were clean.

3. I can point to many more surveys that named me CEO of the year. Populism rage is a dangerous thing.

1) It was obvious to any idiot that knew what was going on that you guys had no access to capital.

2) As far as you knew? That's the biggest cop out ever. If you are the fucking CEO you know. Oh boo hoo we had trillions of dollars of shit on our books. If you never spoke with your CFO and accounting executives you have no right being the CEO.

3) CEO of the year? How much did that cost you?

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

I know we have addressed this in a previous thread and I could care less about your failings as a CEO but the truth is that you are a little bitch, which has been corroborated by both your former ROTC buddy at CU Boulder (our mutual acquaintance that we PM'd about) and the fact that you managed to get punched in the face while running on a treadmill (and didn't even bother to defend yourself). I also heard that after being pulled away he went back to the rack and finished his sets while you stumbled to eventually get up before meandering over to the showers with your little Richard between your legs. You always try to play the hero (oh, I punched my Air Force commanding officer in the face because another young cadet was being bullied) but we all know the truth. The audacity to come on here and preach to the future of the financial world is worse than your Lehman failure. You're an embarrassment.

 

I'm not upset I just think you are an ass and primarily blame you (and Barney Frank) for the entire financial meltdown and the decline of my neighbor's home value (and subsequent foreclosure) and 401-k decline. Also, I never claimed to know you just mentioned that we had a mutual acquaintance. I also understand why you wouldn't remember "when you got knocked the fuck out" (to quote Smokey and the senior source that reported on the matter to page 6).

You Sep 12 2013 - 10:06am Delete Block Flag Post

Good morning. Obviously, I thought your username was just a joke but you mentioned something in a recent thread that made me believe otherwise. I mentioned it to my friend’s father, Redacted, the other day when we were out to lunch in Scarsdale as he had talked about being in a club with you at CU. He sends his regards and mentioned that he would see you around Yom Kippur? Anyways, very cool to have you as an active member on the site.

DickFuld Sep 14 2013 - 6:46pm Delete Block Flag Post
JBS, The name definitely rings a bell but he is not really part of my social circle anymore although we were good buddies in college. Definitely enjoying the site although I must admit kids seem a bit wetter behind the ears than I remember. Best, DF

 

I know how we can settle this once and for all. @DickFuld

Was the toilet seat in your private bathroom solid gold, gold plated, or gold plated and heated?

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

I think Lawrence McDonald would characterize you as an asshole who didn't give a shit about Lehman or its employees.

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
 
jmayhem:

I think Lawrence McDonald would characterize you as an asshole who didn't give a shit about Lehman or its employees.

Larry McDonald was a nobody! He was a VP in convert sales. I never even met the guy. I think Larry McDonald is a phony who tried to present himself as an insider when he was nothing of the sort. Did you know that we had about 10,000 people that were VPs or higher? Not exactly in the executive suite.
 
DickFuld:
jmayhem:

I think Lawrence McDonald would characterize you as an asshole who didn't give a shit about Lehman or its employees.

Larry McDonald was a nobody! He was a VP in convert sales. I never even met the guy. I think Larry McDonald is a phony who tried to present himself as an insider when he was nothing of the sort. Did you know that we had about 10,000 people that were VPs or higher? Not exactly in the executive suite.

A dream coming true: DickFuld himself on WSO. I am a big fan, currently a student, and looking for a good mentor. So, if you have any time left, would be a big dream coming true :)

 

"troll" There is nothing trollish about this. "trolling: submit a deliberately provocative posting to an online message board with the aim of inciting an angry response." Unless you are a fuking moron, no one in their right mind will believe that Dick Fuld has decided to come on an anonymous message board to talk about his life.

I despair at the state of our education, and the lack of critical thinking. If this post is any representation of the future candidate pool of analysts I am going to have to pick from, I might as well just give up and do all the shit work myself.

Unthinking real!

 
Best Response
Disjoint:

"troll" There is nothing trollish about this. "trolling: submit a deliberately provocative posting to an online message board with the aim of inciting an angry response."

Well, I checked Merrriam - Webster and nothing related to the internet connotation of "troll" is anywhere near its denotation of the word "troll". So, of course, I went to the next best place... Urban Dictionary. Its definition -- Troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument. (Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll ) The user in question, "DickFuld", did, in fact, deliberately post his "story" to WSO. WSO, at my last recollection, is, in fact, a "message board". Therefore, without any leaps of faith we can come to the conclusion that the user named, "DickFuld" posted a topic to a message board ("WSO") in order to elicit responses from other users on said message board ("WSO"). We have no reason to believe that "DickFuld" was coerced in to posting the topic on WSO because that wouldn't make any sense. While we cannot determine "DickFuld's" true intentions behind the post here on WSO, it is safe to say that his post caused a certain level of disruption and elicited angry responses from users. Even further, contained in the comment section of the post by "DickFuld" is several arguments between the OP ("DickFuld") and responders to said post. Therefore, I can safely come to the conclusion that "trolling" is an appropriate word to describe the intent behind "DickFuld's" post here today based on the facts that "DickFuld" deliberately made the post on WSO and its presence resulted in a larger than usual number of comments for a typical post on WSO (disruption) and argument among the users (read the comments). So, on to the next part.
Disjoint:
Unless you are a fuking moron, no one in their right mind will believe that Dick Fuld has decided to come on an anonymous message board to talk about his life.

Well, well... Glass house, buddy. You seem to have had trouble correctly defining "troll" just today so I wouldn't go throwing stones, chief.

[disclosure: I, in fact, do not believe that "DickFuld" is Richard Fuld, former CEO of Lehman Brothers.]

Disjoint:

I despair at the state of our education, and the lack of critical thinking. If this post is any representation of the future candidate pool of analysts I am going to have to pick from, I might as well just give up and do all the shit work myself.

Unthinking real!

Cool story, bro.

[quote=patternfinder]Of course, I would just buy in scales. [/quote] See my WSO Blog | my AMA
 
Simple As...:
Disjoint:

"troll" There is nothing trollish about this. "trolling: submit a deliberately provocative posting to an online message board with the aim of inciting an angry response."

Well, I checked Merrriam - Webster and nothing related to the internet connotation of "troll" is anywhere near its denotation of the word "troll".

So, of course, I went to the next best place... Urban Dictionary.

Its definition -- Troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument. (Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll )

The user in question, "DickFuld", did, in fact, deliberately post his "story" to WSO. WSO, at my last recollection, is, in fact, a "message board". Therefore, without any leaps of faith we can come to the conclusion that the user named, "DickFuld" posted a topic to a message board ("WSO") in order to elicit responses from other users on said message board ("WSO"). We have no reason to believe that "DickFuld" was coerced in to posting the topic on WSO because that wouldn't make any sense.

While we cannot determine "DickFuld's" true intentions behind the post here on WSO, it is safe to say that his post caused a certain level of disruption and elicited angry responses from users. Even further, contained in the comment section of the post by "DickFuld" is several arguments between the OP ("DickFuld") and responders to said post.

Therefore, I can safely come to the conclusion that "trolling" is an appropriate verb to describe the intent behind "DickFuld's" post here today based on the facts that "DickFuld" deliberately made the post on WSO and its presence resulted in a larger than usual number of comments for a typical post on WSO (disruption) and argument among the users (read the comments).

So, on to the next part.

Disjoint:

Unless you are a fuking moron, no one in their right mind will believe that Dick Fuld has decided to come on an anonymous message board to talk about his life.

Well, well... Glass house, buddy. You seem to have had trouble correctly defining "troll" just today so I wouldn't go throwing stones, chief.

[disclosure: I, in fact, do not believe that "DickFuld" is Richard Fuld, former CEO of Lehman Brothers.]

Disjoint:

I despair at the state of our education, and the lack of critical thinking. If this post is any representation of the future candidate pool of analysts I am going to have to pick from, I might as well just give up and do all the shit work myself.

Unthinking real!

Cool back office story, bro.

There I fixed it for you.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

Sorry all. I've been flooded with PMs today. I will try to get through all of them, but let me just state a couple of things here that should answer about 80% of the questions, in case I don't get to you.

  1. No, I'm not hiring right now.
  2. I really can't be your mentor, sorry.
  3. No, I can not give you Erin Callan's phone number.

But, I can answer any (polite) questions here.

 
DickFuld:

Sorry all. I've been flooded with PMs today. I will try to get through all of them, but let me just state a couple of things here that should answer about 80% of the questions, in case I don't get to you.

1. No, I'm not hiring right now.
2. I really can't be your mentor, sorry.
3. No, I can not give you Erin Callan's phone number.

But, I can answer any (polite) questions here.

A number of you also sent me personal messages about how to network, so I will just answer this here as well for everyone's benefit.

First, you have to keep in mind that I was networking for a job in the late 1960's, so not everyone was as obsessed with Ivy League degrees the way they are now. My advice may need to be modified somewhat for current times. But, the important thing is you need to build a personal connection before asking for a job. Don't say things like 'Can I network with you?' or 'I AM interested in a job at your company' to people you've never met before. Try to learn anything you may have in common with your targeted person, whether it's growing up in the same town, attending the same school, you both play squash, whatever. Your goal should be to meet as many people as you can and to try to figure out some way you can be helpful to them. I know many of you will say 'but, I'm just a college student, I have nothing to offer'. Well, pardon my French, but that's just feel sorry for yourself bullshit. Maybe you can recommend a goo restaurant, maybe you know a good dentist in the town they just moved to, it doesn't have to be a big thing. If you try to connect people and help them, it will pay off in spades.

If you have any family or friend connections, do not be afraid to use them. You need to come across as someone that people like and someone who gets things done. If people perceive you this way, they will want to hire you. If you lack confidence or you don't follow-up, you will be leaving potential offers on the table. Go get your piece of the pie, because nobody is going to serve it to you.

 

Dick,

I admire your intensity and drive, and despite what happened in 2008 you were instrumental in building an AMEX spin off into a venerable, global institution. I don't think it's fair to single you out. Every bank had some sort of securitization business and exposure to mortgage securities that they thought were sound. AAA ratings are supposed to mean something after all, right?

It was a pity for the fed to let Lehman fail, as the ramifications proved disastrous. I'm sure there's a lot of things that could have been done to better position Lehman ahead of 2008, but hindsight is 20/20 and what happened in the real estate market was unimaginable at the time. Few saw it coming, most bet on it passing.

Thank you for coming on the board and offering your advice to anyone that will bother to listen. You have decades of front line experience that I'm sure we can all benefit from.

Happy thanks giving.

 

@illiniprogrammer

Congratulations, you had the only comment that stuck with me all day. You have me wondering, "why did I not care that much about our technology talent?". I mean, we were One Firm, right? I meant that phrase with all sincerity, even though 'One Firm' was Joe's idea. Vision doesn't get built without technology these days. I'm trying to remember Bridget and Mike, but all I can think of is fucking Gelband. I know this is hard to believe or hard to hear, but I had a lot of people working for me and I barely knew any of their names outside of Joe, Skip, Bart, Ted, Tom, Dave, and a couple of others. It didn't mean I didn't care about the others, I just wasn't good with names. Anyway, I'm glad to see that someone here bleeds green as well. Thanks for your service.

 

"@Martinghoul

Like I said earlier, I don't watch movies."

Come on OP You are not even trying! Seriously since you already went through all that trouble reading through Richard Fuld's wikipedia entry and creating this persona based on it, the least you could do now is to stay in character and respond to our inquiries to the best of your abilities as if you really were him.

Now Martinghoul asked a very interesting question. So please go watch that movie and then enlighten us what would the real Dick Fuld say about his portrayal in that movie. You bet he has seen it already.

Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep.
 

if you are dick fuld you should verify yourself im pretty skeptical as well.

anyway, any man that can take as much hurt as you did deserves some sort of credit.

relatively speaking here, you were fucking butchered to the public eye. majority of the occupy wall street losers probably know your name & bio and blame you for why everything is wrong with the world. instead of watching your testimony they shouldve watched the ascent of money by niall ferguson.

you should change your username to dont hate the player hate the game

"There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning."
 

Dick, you useless piece of sh1t!

You thought you could come here and talk smack about me, huh? Well, you got another think coming, you little f*ckhead!

Any time you wanna step outside, so that we can settle our difference like real men, mano y mano, you just let me know, y' hear? Of course, I am not expecting you to, 'cause you got just about as much balls as a prepubescent girl.

 

Hank -- We already went through this before. You know I can kick your ass and that's why you always avoid me. I am thinking of pursuing criminal charges against you though once I get through all of my other lawsuits. You completely fucked me and thousands (possibly millions) of people. I hope you feel shame. To me, you're as bad as Madoff.

 

I see Little Dickie is still hiding behind his lawyers... Is Little Dickie scared, 'cause he's f*ckin' with the wrong guy?

Like I said, my offer stands. You wanna piece of me, you just let me know.

 

Would you mind commenting on the advice dished out on this site regarding recruitment? Some have said there is plenty of misinformation floating around so what just wondering what are some advice that happen to be false?

 
the_ferry:

Would you mind commenting on the advice dished out on this site regarding recruitment? Some have said there is plenty of misinformation floating around so what just wondering what are some advice that happen to be false?

You're going to have to be more specific. I haven't read everything on this site. It's fair to assume that there's a lot of misinformation floating around on the Internet, including this website. Look at all the lies, half-truths, and misleading information that's out there about me, for example.
 

@DickFuld - You've said a lot about TARP, and the way the crisis was handled in general by the federal government and the Federal Reserve. However, what are your thoughts on the results of all this? What are your views on the regulations that have been put in place following the crisis?

"When you stop striving for perfection, you might as well be dead."
 
EvanM:

@DickFuld - You've said a lot about TARP, and the way the crisis was handled in general by the federal government and the Federal Reserve. However, what are your thoughts on the results of all this? What are your views on the regulations that have been put in place following the crisis?

The pendulum has swung too far. Maybe there weren't the right regulations prior to 2008, but now the capital requirements are so stringent that banks are still not lending as much as they should. Say what you will about 'sub-prime' mortgages, but those same people would never get a loan today.

I think the regulations are also stifling innovation. Things that you take for granted today, were highly innovative when developed. Early in my career, someone created the first money market fund. When you think about it, it wasn't all that long ago (40 years) and virtually everyone you know has one today. A little over ten years after the creation of money market funds, CMOs were created. Ten years after CMOs, SPDRs and credit default swaps were created. Where are the truly innovative ideas in finance right now?

The other problem is that nobody knows the rules of the game anymore, so they're playing it safe. JP Morgan was just fined for losing money! Talk about pouring salt on the wound.

 
DickFuld:
EvanM:

@DickFuld - You've said a lot about TARP, and the way the crisis was handled in general by the federal government and the Federal Reserve. However, what are your thoughts on the results of all this? What are your views on the regulations that have been put in place following the crisis?

The pendulum has swung too far. Maybe there weren't the right regulations prior to 2008, but now the capital requirements are so stringent that banks are still not lending as much as they should. Say what you will about 'sub-prime' mortgages, but those same people would never get a loan today.

I think the regulations are also stifling innovation. Things that you take for granted today, were highly innovative when developed. Early in my career, someone created the first money market fund. When you think about it, it wasn't all that long ago (40 years) and virtually everyone you know has one today. A little over ten years after the creation of money market funds, CMOs were created. Ten years after CMOs, SPDRs and credit default swaps were created. Where are the truly innovative ideas in finance right now?

The other problem is that nobody knows the rules of the game anymore, so they're playing it safe. JP Morgan was just fined for losing money! Talk about pouring salt on the wound.

I couldn't agree more. Let's not forget that these same people getting subprime mortgages were the same ones that regulators had in mind with the community reinvestment act, and that continued to evolve into something that practically encouraged the lending of money to people who could barely afford lunch at McDonald's. And these same regulators now want to distance themselves from this? It's a joke.

The J.P. Morgan situation is particularly infuriating, as you say they basically were fined for losing money. To put a finer point on it, this "fine" was brought because the government wanted to give the idea that they actually cared about JPM's shareholders. Who the hell do they think they're hurting by just taking such an obscene amount of money from the company? This incompetence, its frightening. You're fined for conducting business that is perfectly legal (and was even encouraged by legislation for decades), and yet if you make "too much" money, they will also take a confiscatory portion of that. The regulatory environment is so harsh now, I am not sure we will see any new products any time soon. Not while this administration is in office, that's for sure.

As you say, it's been almost an exponential curve connecting the points between each huge innovation in financial products. That has stalled utterly and completely. Its going to take a hell of a lot to get it going again.

"When you stop striving for perfection, you might as well be dead."
 
DickFuld:
happypantsmcgee:

This is so fucking good. Dick, if WSO isnt paying you for this, they really should be.

Thank you. The reality is, WSO couldn't pay me enough to justify my time. I'm still worth a lot of money and that's not my goal anymore. The goal is to spread truth and clear my name. I was writing this as a trial balloon with a relatively younger audience to gauge the reaction. As far as I'm concerned, I consider this a failure. My op-ed in the Wall Street Journal will have to wait a few more years, this story is too personal and too raw for too many people at this point. The reaction will be worse among an older crowd.

Thanks for all of the support from those on WSO who still believe in innovation in finance and are willing to hear the truth. To those who just believe everything that's written in the papers as gospel, I think you should take a step back and reevaluate how you interpret information that's disseminated through traditional media outlets. Not everything written is true.

So what made you choose a Microfund convention instead of WSJ to tell your story?

 
happypantsmcgee:

This is so fucking good. Dick, if WSO isnt paying you for this, they really should be.

Thank you. The reality is, WSO couldn't pay me enough to justify my time. I'm still worth a lot of money and that's not my goal anymore. The goal is to spread truth and clear my name. I was writing this as a trial balloon with a relatively younger audience to gauge the reaction. As far as I'm concerned, I consider this a failure. My op-ed in the Wall Street Journal will have to wait a few more years, this story is too personal and too raw for too many people at this point. The reaction will be worse among an older crowd.

Thanks for all of the support from those on WSO who still believe in innovation in finance and are willing to hear the truth. To those who just believe everything that's written in the papers as gospel, I think you should take a step back and reevaluate how you interpret information that's disseminated through traditional media outlets. Not everything written is true.

 

But won't there always be the skeptics and the uninformed? While they're the loudest, those with whom you'd want to clear your name should, in theory, be more amenable to hearing your side of the story, right?

I could be wrong, but I believe I once read that you said that being quiet during the LTCM debacle was a mistake, as it allowed negative rumours to spread without opposition. Maybe an op-ed isn't the worst idea, because you'll at least have said your peace. And maybe now is indeed the best time, because people still care about what happened.

Don't know if you've seen House of Cards (Kevin Spacey), but one thing the protagonist, Frank Underwood, said comes to mind when reading this: "There's no better way to over power a trickle of doubt then with a flood of naked truth."

Then again, I'm young and naive, and relatively inexperienced. But in my opinion you're trying to avoid the public scrutiny you endured in 2008, which I don't think will ever go away in this technological age because people have a medium to express their opinions freely, and often use that medium to death. Life, after all, isn't fair, right? At least you get to tell your side of the story.

 

I dont know, Dick. I think you would do well with the younger set just based on how into popular culture you are.

DickFuld:

Fun.

Any band who has/had someone dating Lena Dunham who created in/stars in Girls needs to be on this list.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 
happypantsmcgee:

I dont know, Dick. I think you would do well with the younger set just based on how into popular culture you are.

DickFuld:

Fun.

Any band who has/had someone dating Lena Dunham who created in/stars in Girls needs to be on this list.

One of my daughters made me watch that show with her once. I would rather go testify in Congress again than watch another episode of Girls.
 

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Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

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Molestiae consectetur nostrum et sit. Impedit magnam non qui id at.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

Et aliquam recusandae est vel laborum quas. Nesciunt at culpa est quia voluptatem consectetur. Non ut rem consequatur omnis. Assumenda perferendis perspiciatis doloremque aspernatur. Rerum ex repellat ut sed molestiae. Sed veniam aut dolores quasi iure suscipit.

Atque ipsum optio nobis quisquam id. Dolores quos non eligendi.

 

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"When you stop striving for perfection, you might as well be dead."

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