Lehman Brothers | The Gorilla of Wall Street
1/13/202633 min
Rising from humble summer intern to the formidable CEO of Lehman Brothers, Dick Fuld is determined to make the investment bank succeed, even if that means making risky bets that could set the stage for disaster.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLindsay Graham· Host0:00
... American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. [pensive music] It's October 6, 2008, in Washington, DC. A black SUV pulls up outside the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Protesters crowd around a barricade. They wave signs scrawled with the words "shame" and "crook" as the former CEO of Lehman Brothers, Dick Fuld, emerges from the car with his lawyer by his side. Fuld hurries toward the white marble building while his lawyer tries to shield him from the jeering crowd. When they enter the hearing room, Fuld takes a seat at a long mahogany witness table. A microphone, a single cup of water, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wait in front of him. Fuld glances at his lawyer, who sits over to the side. They've rehearsed their story: Lehman Brothers was a victim of the financial crisis, not the cause. But now, sitting before the scowling members of Congress, Fuld begins to sweat. He delivers his prepared statement, then takes questions from the lawmakers. Fuld has been giving answers for over an hour when Representative Peter Welch leans toward the microphone.