Ivan Boesky

Ivan Frederick Boesky ( born March 6, 1937 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American stock exchange speculator. He was involved in one of the largest business scandals of the 1980s.

Life and work

Rise

The son of Russian Jewish emigrants and bar owner from Detroit visited in Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook School (now Cranbrook Kingswood School) and graduated from Mumford High School in Detroit. After completing his studies at Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University and University of Michigan, and most recently on Law College at Michigan State University without a bachelor's degree, he worked as a bookkeeper in a law firm. At 29, he became the arbitrage trader on Wall Street. His rich father, who still had to pay the rent for him at the time, called him up to that " Ivan the scroungers ".

With 49 years Boesky decreed as a " corporate raider " a fortune of $ 200 million. On Wall Street, he was nicknamed Ivan the Terrible. Also Boeskys wastefulness was legendary. When he went to eat in the most expensive restaurants, he ordered several main dishes. From each it cost then a bite to see what he liked it best. He then ate the rest he left.

Investigations

The investigation of Boesky were triggered by the investment banker Dennis Levine, who was arrested in May 1986 by the Securities and Exchange Commission and testified against Boesky. Prosecutor in this process was then Rudolph Giuliani. Boesky was sentenced in 1986 for illegal insider trading to three years in prison and a fine of $ 100 million. As a last transaction he was still allowed before the verdict, he sold a large block of shares worth $ 440 million. So that he could immediately pay the fine.

Art

For the film character " Gordon Gekko " from the Oliver Stone film Wall Street Boesky was one of the models alongside Carl Icahn. Parts of the " greed - is - good " speech that Boesky had held on May 18 Prior to 1986, graduates of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, have been incorporated into the film. Quote: "It's good when you're greedy. I would even argue that it is healthy to be greedy. You can be greedy and thereby feel good. "

Newsweek magazine commented later: The strangest thing was not just that Ivan Boesky could say such a thing at a graduation ceremony of economists, but also that his words were greeted with loud laughter and applause.

To Ivan Boesky, Dennis Levine, Carl Icahn and their machinations, it goes in the books, "Mr. Diamond "by Douglas Frantz and" Club of Thieves "by James B. Stewart.