Weill Book is 'Real Deal'

Of all the forces that have shaped the financial-services industry over the last 40 years, Sandy Weill is one of the most powerful.

His just-published autobiography, The Real Deal , is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the history of this industry -- and the kind of person it takes to battle the establishment, change the landscape and marshal giant transactions like the $60 billion merger of Travelers and Citicorp.

This is a story of big vision, big deals and big egos. In fact, I think many people will read this book backward -- starting with the index, which is replete with entries about Weill's associates, including Jamie Dimon (who garners the most space), Peter Cohen, John Reed, Deryck Maughan, Arthur Levitt, Bob Greenhill and Frank Zarb.

The book's co-author, former Wall Street banking analyst Judah Kraushaar, was tasked with challenging Weill's memory of events by interviewing all of these people, some many times. The result, though written from Weill's point of view, contains interesting revelations that are bound to stir gossip and discussion.

In an interview in Chicago last week, Weill eagerly recounted many of the stories in his book. But when I pressed him to explain the emotions and discipline involved in commandeering multibillion-dollar deals, he paused, as if not quite understanding my question. Finally, he smiled, and said: "Well, it's just a few more zeros!"

That's your first clue to this fascinating personality: The way Weill takes complex concepts and envisions them in a clear and cogent manner. And his book pulls you along, as if it was fiction -- a sort of Horatio Alger story of the poor young man who through hard work and brilliant, creative thinking becomes a megamillionaire. But it's true.

Humble Beginnings

Weill's tale begins in 1960, when, at age 27, he formed, with a few friends, a small securities brokerage firm named Carter, Berlind, Potoma & Weill.

The firm thrived, and all along Weill mastered the art of the back office. He and his partners set about consolidating larger, failing firms -- legendary Wall Street names that included Hayden Stone, Shearson Hamill, Faulkner Dawkins, and Loeb Rhoades, Hornblower & Co.

Weill served as the firm's chairman from 1965 to 1984, a period in which it completed over 15 acquisitions to become the nation's second-largest securities brokerage firm.

In 1981, Weill sold the combined firm -- now known as Shearson Loeb Rhoades -- to American Express, for the then eye-popping price of $1 billion. He points out it was a pretty good return on an initial investment of $250,000, most of which was borrowed.

Famously, he and American Express Chairman Jim Robinson could never integrate their two distinctive backgrounds and corporate cultures. So, Weill resigned four years later, in June 1985, at age 52.

But Weill's story gets even more incredible: After sitting out a year -- with enough money to retire in a grand manner -- he started all over again and built something even larger.