PROLOGUE: RIDING HIGH BEFORE THE FALL
8 Lunch at the Four Seasons with Stephen Schwarzman, January 23, 2006; interview notes.
9 Details of the sale of Equity Office Properties: Terry Priston, “Blackstone’s Bid for Equity Office Prevails,” New York Times, February 8, 2007.
9 I hosted Charlie Rose Monday, May 1, 2006; transcript at www.charlierose.com.
11 Descriptions of the two Schwarzman parties are from my personal recollections, but the events also received some media coverage, in particular: James B. Stewart, “The Birthday Party,” New Yorker, February 11, 2008.
12 “It was a great age”: Author interview with Mohamed El-Erian, March 15, 2010; transcript.
12 Schwarzman’s birthday bash and his company’s going public: On March 22, 2007, thirty days after Schwarzman’s birthday party, Blackstone registered with the SEC to take the company public.
12 At the 2007 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, I interviewed a series of leaders regarding potential crises in the future and published their comments in my BusinessWeek column “Facetime with Maria Bartiromo,” February 6, 2006. I later spoke with Josef Ackermann in Russia in June 2010, asking how he could have been so prescient.
14 “It’s hard to believe”: Author interview with David Rubenstein, January 15, 2007; transcript.
CHAPTER ONE: NIGHTMARE ON LIBERTY STREET
16 “The dominoes were falling”: John Mack’s remarks aired on my television special, One Year Later: Reflections from the Street, September 13, 2009, www.cnbc.com. I also interviewed Mack on several occasions before and after the crisis.
17 Paulson’s calls to Lewis and his frame of mind about the rescue of Lehman Brothers were described to me in a taped interview with a Treasury official.
19 “By Friday…we just wanted to get through the damn day”: Author interview with an executive close to Fuld; transcript.
20 The failed deal between Fuld and the Koreans was widely reported in the media and confirmed for me with sources inside Lehman Brothers.
21 “The world changed”: Author interview with Mohamed El-Erian, September 12, 2008; transcript.
21 “They have their hat”: Author interview with David Kelly, Closing Bell, September 12, 2008, www.cnbc.com.
21 “There is no reason”: Author interview with Martin Feldstein, Closing Bell, September 12, 2008, www.cnbc.com.
21 “This is a sea change”: Author interview with Jerry Webman, Closing Bell, September 12, 2008, www.cnbc.com.
24 “Everyone thought good ol’ Hank would be there with the money”: Told to me by a Treasury official; transcript.
25 Descriptions of what went on in the meetings at the Fed are from multiple sources, including interviews with Robert Wolf, John Mack, Vikram Pandit, Bob Diamond, Lehman executives, and Treasury officials; transcripts.
27 “There was a disconnect”: Author interview with Larry McDonald, April 2008; transcript.
28 “To say Dick”: Author interview with Lehman source, defending Fuld, on background.
29 Description of Bob Diamond’s role and sentiments on September 12: Author interview with Bob Diamond, as well as remarks he made on my television special, One Year Later: Reflections from the Street; www.cnbc.com.
31 “The board is looking”: Author interview with John Thain, after he became Merrill CEO, November 26, 2007; transcript.
33 “You had this sense”: John Mack’s recollections are in an interview for my television special, One Year Later: Reflections from the Street; www.cnbc.com.
33 Robert Wolf’s recollections: Author interview February 18, 2010; transcript.
33 Vikram Pandit’s recollections of being summoned to the Fed are in an interview for my television special, One Year Later: Reflections from the Street; www.cnbc.com.
34 One observer painted a remarkable picture for me: From a conversation with a Treasury official; transcript.
CHAPTER TWO: THE BUBBLE MACHINE
38 “It’s not that events”: Author interview with Ed Lazear, February 25, 2010; transcript.
39 “It’s distressing”: Author interview with Angelo Mozilo, March 26, 2007; transcript.
40 April 17, 2006, e-mail uncovered by federal investigators in 2009: Source: SEC complaint.
41 “We had a lot of people”: Author interview with Angelo Mozilo, August 29, 2007; transcript.
42 “Every day I’d wake up”: Author interview with Angelo Mozilo, December 2007; transcript.
42 Description of Ken Lewis’s reasons for buying Countrywide: Author interview with Ken Lewis, January 16, 2008; transcript.
44 Alan Greenspan’s “froth in the markets” comment was made in a speech to the Economic Club of New York, May 20, 2005.
44 Ben Bernanke’s comments about the housing market: from his testimony at his confirmation hearing, November 15, 2005.
46 “We were only looking”: Author interview with Paolo Pellegrini, February 12, 2010; transcript.
47 Accounts of Jimmy Cayne’s behavior are from multiple sources, including Kate Kelly, “Bear CEO’s Handling of Crisis Raises Issues,” Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2007; my interview with former Bear Stearns chairman Alan Greenberg, June 11, 2010; and Alan “Ace” Greenberg, The Rise and Fall of Bear Stearns (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010).
47 Ralph Cioffi and Everquest Financial details are from CNBC and other reporting as well as the indictment from the Eastern District of New York, June 19, 2008.
48 “His relationship with me”: Author interview with Ace Greenberg, June 11, 2010. Portions aired on Wall Street Journal Report; transcript and www.cnbc.com.
50 “I don’t get any joy out of anyone’s pain”: Author interview with Larry Fink, March 11, 2008; transcript.
50 Description of Alan Schwartz interview on CNBC defending Bear Stearns, March 12, 2008; www.cnbc.com.
53 “Jamie was incredibly smart”: Author interview with Sandy Weill, October 22, 2006, partially published in my BusinessWeek column, “Facetime with Maria Bartiromo,” titled “Sandy Weill’s Wild Ride”; transcript.
54 “The news that Bear’s”: Timothy Geithner in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, April 3, 2008; transcript.
56 “It’s the last time”: Author interview with Jamie Dimon,
