Surviving Wall Street

Praise for SURVIVING WALL STREET "An epic journey by a consummate Wall Street dealmaker, Scott Bok advised on some of the biggest M&As in U. S. history and built the gold standard of boutique investment banks. Bok's fast paced, insider's account delivers fresh insights on a Darwinian industry. Along the way, we meet the celebrity bankers and corporate titans who waged fractious battles to create today's investment banking world."
- DIRK SMILLIE, former Forbes senior writer and author, The Business of Tomorrow: The Visionary Life of Harry Guggenheim "Scott Bok combines the skills of a Wall Street dealmaker with the gifts of a born storyteller in this extraordinary account of what happens when the worlds of business, politics, and academia collide. Surviving Wall Street brilliantly describes how the University of Pennsylvania, a storied Ivy League university, was attacked by a group of 'masters of the universe' who deployed the tools of a hostile corporate takeover in their effort to transform the school. Those efforts - rife with boardroom intrigue, secret meetings, and bare-knuckle attacks - perfectly illustrate how the previously staid world of academia has become a culture wars battleground where the search for truth collides with the quest for power."
- ERIC A. FELDMAN, Chair, University of Pennsylvania Faculty Senate and Professor, Penn Carey Law School "Scott's book propels the reader into the midst of the complicated and unpredictable reality that is the world of Wall Street. His humble beginnings in Grand Rapids, Michigan contrast his experiences in this world where titans of industry become characters, personalities clash, and he sat center stage to witness it all. However, his enormous success never stopped him from being involved in philanthropy and education, and the stewardship he exhibited during his tenure as the board chairman of the University of Pennsylvania-at the height of attacks against freedom of expression-was heroic and serves as an example of a champion of democracy."
- LUIS A. MIRANDA, JR. , political strategist and consultant, Chair of The Public Theater and author of Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America

PREFACE XI
CHAPTER 1
BEFORE THE BEGINNING 1
CHAPTER 2
I WANT TO BE A PART OF IT 15
CHAPTER 3
UP, UP AND AWAY 27
CHAPTER 4
MOVING FAST 37
CHAPTER 5
A BUBBLE BURSTS 59
CHAPTER 6
REFUSING TO SELL OUT 93
CHAPTER 7
A NOT SO CRAZY IDEA 117
CHAPTER 8
BRAINS AND BULL MARKETS 139
CHAPTER 9
VISITORS FROM JURASSIC PARK 157
CHAPTER 10
ANOTHER YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING 171
CHAPTER 11
SHIFTING TIDES AND TIDAL WAVES 191
CHAPTER 12
GREEDY PEOPLE WATCHING 223
CHAPTER 13
NOT TOO BIG TO FAIL 241
CHAPTER 14
ZAMBONIS AND ICE 265
CHAPTER 15
CLOUDS OF DUST 281
CHAPTER 16
STARTING OVER 301
CHAPTER 17
SUCCESSION 325
CHAPTER 18
"WE'RE GONNA DIE" 343
CHAPTER 19
NOT DEAD YET 367
CHAPTER 20
IT'S (NOT ALWAYS) A WONDERFUL LIFE 381
CHAPTER 21
THERE IS A SEASON 401
CHAPTER 22
A GATHERING STORM 419
CHAPTER 23
TWO WORLDS COLLIDE 433
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 463
NOTES 467
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 483
INDEX 485