CHARLIE ROSE: Felix Rohatyn is here. He is known as the man who saved New York City when it almost went bankrupt in 1975. For years he was an investment banker. He became the consummate deal maker. He was on the front lines of a new culture that saw the biggest leveraged buyouts of the ‘80s and ‘90s. In 1997, he left the world of finance to become the United States ambassador to France. He writes about all of this in a new memoir. It is called "Dealings, a Political and Financial Life." I am very pleased to have him back at this table. In full disclosure, he is a great friend of mine, and one of the great things we have done in the history of this program is that we went to France when he was ambassador and did a one-hour profile of him there. And, in fact, the way he starts his book is a story he told me on film, which you can see on our website. And secondly, I hope he will remember that this is a book that I said you have to write, and now he has written it. Welcome. FELIX ROHATYN: Thank you. Thank you, always a pleasure. CHARLIE ROSE: You open this book with the scene of you leaving France.
The full Charlie Rose interview as well as the transcript of the discussion can be found here.The New York Times covered the book, and introduced the title and author, as well as his personal story, this way: Felix Rohatyn’s memoir, modestly titled “Dealings: A Political and Financial Life,” is the sort of vaulting success story that makes one yearn for the big-hearted America of the mid-20th century, a less mean and more innocent time when not every career seemed calculated and not every banker was a subject of scorn, and when the country welcomed enterprising immigrants.Find that NYT piece here. The Daily Reckoning, a financial column and blog of sorts, mentioned the author and book as well:
Felix Rohatyn just published his autobiography, Dealings: A Political and Financial Life. He remembers a meeting in 1975 with the then deputy mayor of New York, James Cavanaugh. The city’s finances had so deteriorated that it was not able to issue long-term bonds. (This is a timely reminder of what to expect in 2011: There will be states and cities unable to issue bonds or rollover debt. If the federal government, including the ever-expanding Federal Reserve, does not or cannot fill the gap, scrip will be issued to pay municipal bills and salaries.) Cavanaugh claimed that New York City was running a balanced budget. Rohatyn disagreed. Cavanaugh “breezily” patronized Rohatyn: “I see you don’t know much about municipal finance.” The investment banker who had negotiated the largest merger in American corporate history (ITT and Hartford Insurance Company) shot back: “Mr. Cavanaugh, I may not know much about municipal finance. But I know about bulls**t. And what you’re giving me is pure bulls**t.”
CHARLIE ROSE: Felix Rohatyn is here. He is the legendary investment
banker who was pivotal in saving New York City from financial ruin more
than 30 years ago. These days, he’s focused on a much different problem --
revitalizing the nation’s once great infrastructure, which he says is
literally falling apart. He writes about that in “Bold Endeavors: How Our
Government Built America and Why It Must Rebuild Now.” In it, he reviews
10 great public investments and how they can be used as a model today. I’m
pleased to have Felix Rohatyn back at this table. Welcome.
FELIX ROHATYN: Thank you, Charlie.
CHARLIE ROSE: You know, I want to talk about what happened 30 years
ago. You know, let’s talk about it now.
FELIX ROHATYN: Sure.
CHARLIE ROSE: What was it and what are the lessons from the near
financial collapse of New York City that you and Hugh Carey, the governor,
were able to do that might be instructive about what government can do
today.
, The Embassy of the Future
, The Future of the Transatlantic Defense Community: Final Report of the Csis Commission on Transatlantic Security and Industrial Cooperation in the Twenty-First Century (Csis Panel Report)
, Biography - Rohatyn, Felix G(eorge) (1928-): An article from: Contemporary Authors
.
, 