The Devil's Casino_ Friendship, Betrayal - Vicky Ward [58]
that. In other words, though Lehmanites were bankers, they were not supposed to be
interested in making money . . . at least not for themselves.
"Joe would be absolutely horrified if he realized how people came to view him," says
Bob Shapiro. "At bottom, Joe is an emotional man, who deeply wants to be liked."
After Gregory, next in line to attend Lehman's King Richard was Tom Russo, the general
counsel, widely considered Fuld's "intellectual shield." Russo was Lehman's public
voice--before Congress, the Senate, and international financial panels. He loved to talk
and share ideas, and he has a nascent passion for producing movies. Within Lehman,
Russo was well-liked.
A few of the heirs apparent in the Fuld coterie came from outside the U.S. office. By
1999 Asia was headed up by Jasjit "Jesse" Bhattal, an immaculately dressed Indian who
often sported a silk ascot. When the Asians videoconferenced in, many of the New
Yorkers felt shabbily put together by comparison.
Bhattal was considered a huge step up in every way from his predecessor, Dan Tyree.
Tyree weighed 350 pounds, spilled food on his clothes, and often slept through operating
committee meetings. In the late 1990s, Fuld went with Tyree to a client lunch in Tokyo
where local food--as in fish--was served. Tyree ordered a steak. He may as well have
ordered an execution, since Fuld got rid of him as soon as he could.
Bhattal also won plaudits from his peers because he had a phobia about flying (which he
never conquered), yet of all the Lehman executive committee members he probably flew
the most. Watching him as the plane took off and landed, however, was a grueling
experience, says someone who flew with him. "He'd grip the arms of the seat and
hyperventilate noisily." Yet they had to hand it Bhattal, he was courageous: He flew.
He showed a similar commitment in the office. When he was made head of Asia, he did
not pretend to understand the trading business. His background was in banking. "He went
and sat on the trading floor and basically never left until he'd understood it thoroughly,"
says a New York-based colleague. "He was an inspiration to all of us."
The other overseas member of the Fuld circle was a young, ambitious British banker,
Jeremy Isaacs, who was appointed head of all Europe in 2000. He was only 36 at the
time. He had never gone to university. Every time Fuld landed on the tarmac in London,
Isaacs was there to greet him. During trips throughout Europe, he almost never left Fuld's
side--something some say Fuld would occasionally mock him for. "Jeremy, I don't need
you to babysit me," he'd say as the Brit followed him into every meeting. Isaacs says, in
fact, Fuld asked for him to be there.
As Isaac's influence in the firm grew, so did his girth. In 2003 he imported a five-star
chef into Lehman's dining room in a penthouse in London's Canary Wharf, the new home
of Lehman London (which he had gotten British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to
inaugurate). In no time the Lehman dining room was labeled the best corporate executive
dining room in town, which was an in-house joke in New York, as was the fact that
Isaacs's London office was the only office in all of Lehman that was bigger than Dick
Fuld's. Isaacs points out that he did not design it himself. Rather, Fran Kittredge, the New
York-based head of philanthropy had.
Isaacs's weight gain became a cause for concern during a hike up Bald Mountain, at the
Fulds' summer retreat in Sun Valley.
"We were seriously concerned that he might not make it," recalls a colleague.
Isaacs agreed. "It was a very unpleasant experience," he says. He hired a boxing coach
when he returned to London. "I still have the trainer," he says. "Climbing up that hill
gave me the kick I needed to get into shape." Isaacs also bought himself a home next to
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in Cap d 'Antibes and had himself a custommade E-Type Jaguar. Stevie Wonder sang at his 40th birthday party in London.
He liked his surroundings to meet certain standards.