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The
Predators' Ball
By
Connie Bruck
Penguin USA, 1989 - 399
pages
This book, Liars
Poker, Den
of Thieves and Barbarians at the Gate are the
books that define Wall Street in the 1980’s. This
book was an outstanding coverage of the age of the junk bond
raiders. Junk bonds were the favorite financial tool of
corporate raiders everywhere. The junk bond was also used to
finance many new businesses (Donald Trump, Atlantic City
and MCI are the most memorable to me). This book also covers
Michael the driving force behind Drexel Burnham and the King
of the junk bond.
The book is focused on the rise and fall of Drexel and the
associated personalities of the firm. The author does a very
good job of illustrating the power Milken had within Drexel,
how his office on the West Coast went from being a backwater
to accounting for the bulk of the firms revenue, and how
Milken's subsequent removal left Drexel crippled past the
point of healing. I
felt that the book does a good job of explaining the
brilliance of Milken and the high-yield bond market that he
created and nurtured, and the catch-22 that led to his
criminalization.
At the end of the day I find these kind
of books to be financial humor more than anything because 1)
these guys worked their butts off (2) made tons of money and
then (3) a lot of them lost their shirts, ran into
difficulties or (3) ended up in jail.
Yes, they are rich by the boat load but it isn’t the
way I want to make a living.
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