Michael M. Thomas
Articles by Michael M. Thomas
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About (Goldman) Sachs
The Partnership: The Making
of Goldman Sachs
By Charles D. Ellis
The Penguin Press, 729 pages, $37.95
Around 1990, I read somewhere that over half the graduating class at Yale had signed up to be interviewed by Goldman Sachs. I found the thralldom to Mammon that this bespoke by turns amazing, discouraging and in its way disgusting, and I said so in the column I was writing at the time for this paper.
At that point, this once-great Republic had not yet turned—twice—to 55 Broad Street for its secretary of the Treasury: under Clinton, Robert E. Rubin, and now, even more significantly, Henry W. Paulson Jr., who in the eyes of many is really running this nation in distress, both out front and behind the scenes. read more »
Massive Portfolio’s Platinum-Plated Debut
Getty Images
Joanne Lipman.
Condé Nast's bulky Portfolio makes a lightweight debut. read more »
Resurrected by the Wrath of Liz Smith
patrickmcmullan.com
The Grand Dame of Dish.
In New York, the way we live now, to relinquish or be denied one’s boldface identity, whether read more »
Gad! Why Wasn’t I Asked to Schwarzman Party? Hell, I Won’t Grovel
Getty Images
Steve Schwarzman, C.E.O. and co-founder of the Blackstone Group.
Other readers of The Times of Jan. read more »
A Mesopotamian Proposal: Restore Chaos’ ‘Dread Empire’
Marianne Barcellona/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A prophet scorned: Bernard Lewis, historian of Islam and the Middle East.
In the 15 years during which I more or less regularly conducted a column for this newspaper, I can&r read more »
Spotlight on the Wealth Gap: Goldman’s Wretched Excess
Jeff T. Green/Getty Images
Dick Cheney, master of ceremonies at the cut-tax-and-spend orgy.
In 1992, I wrote a short book about a number of things going on in this country that I thought we as read more »
A Puzzling Inflation Fight— The Worst of Both Worlds
Peter Thompson/Getty Images
Will Mr. Bernanke please explain?
A fortnight ago, the Federal Reserve raised its base rate for the 17th time in two years, to 5.25 pe read more »
A Puzzling Inflation Fight- The Worst of Both Worlds
A fortnight ago, the Federal Reserve raised its base rate for the 17th time in two years, to 5.25 pe read more »
Hurray for Bloomberg, A One-Man Third Party
I wonder if other readers of the Times Op-Ed page are as aware of the mighty struggle that seems to read more »
Hurray for Bloomberg, A One-Man Third Party
I wonder if other readers of the Times Op-Ed page are as aware of the mighty struggle that seems to read more »
Hamilton Project Revisited: Foxes Guard the Henhouse
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Some energy crisis: Exxon gave its former C.E.O., Lee R. Raymond, a retirement package worth roughly $400 million.
In the April 24 issue of The Observer, there appeared a letter of mine to Roger Altman with respect read more »
Hamilton Project Revisited: Foxes Guard the Henhouse
In the April 24 issue of The Observer, there appeared a letter of mine to Roger Altman with respect read more »
The Big Ugly Story of Our Time: Corruption Threatens the Dollar
My father had a very good war—he spent 1942-46 on carriers in the South Pacific, making him pa read more »
The Big Ugly Story of Our Time: Corruption Threatens the Dollar
My father had a very good war—he spent 1942-46 on carriers in the South Pacific, making him part o read more »
Gad! Roger Altman: ‘Hamilton Project’ Is Spinach, Hell!
Terry Ashe/Liaison
Former Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger C. Altman, who serves on the advisory board of the Hamilton Project, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee in 1994.
Mr. Roger C. Altman
Evercore Partners
55 East 52nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10055
read more »
Gad! Roger Altman: 'Hamilton Project' Is Spinach, Hell!
Mr. Roger C. AltmanEvercore Partners
55 East 52nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10055
Dear Roger: read more »
The Miller Problem as Symptom: Institutional Rot at The Times
New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.
Remember the old Herblock Watergate cartoon? read more »
The Miller Problem as Symptom: Institutional Rot at The Times
Remember the old Herblock Watergate cartoon? read more »
Who’ll Clean Up the Bush Mess? Gore and Clinton (Bill, That Is)
Scott Gries/Getty Images
Al Gore in Central Park on Oct. 6.
In the past, faced with the Hobson’s choice of voting for a bunch of crooks or a passel of idi read more »
Who'll Clean Up the Bush Mess? Gore and Clinton (Bill, That Is)
In the past, faced with the Hobson’s choice of voting for a bunch of crooks or a passel of idiots, read more »
The Story of the Hurricane
Robert Sullivan/AFP/Getty Images
The ruins of the First Baptist Church in Gulfport, Miss., two days after Katrina struck.
Dogs that don’t bark in the night have always captured my attention, and I suppose the same ca read more »
The Story of the Hurricane
Dogs that don’t bark in the night have always captured my attention, and I suppose the same can be read more »
The Story of the Hurricane
Dogs that don’t bark in the night have always captured my attention, and I suppose the same ca read more »
The Story of the Hurricane
Dogs that don’t bark in the night have always captured my attention, and I suppose the same can be read more »
As Time Goes By, You Can Call 2005 Year of Schwarzman
Jean-Christian Bourcart/Liaison
A pleasant enough little chap: Steve Schwarzman, C.E.O. of the Blackstone Group.
The other day, contemplating a couple of more or less recent news items, I had a thought. read more »
As Time Goes By, You Can Call 2005 Year of Schwarzman
The other day, contemplating a couple of more or less recent news items, I had a thought. read more »
As Times Guy Keens, Durand's N.Y. Paean Abducted by Arkansas
The latest edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations contains 46 gems from the pen or throat of read more »
Fighting Misery With Memory, A Widower Hopes for Healing
Rules for Old Men Waiting, by Peter Pouncey. read more »
Pound-Foolish Public Library Brass No Kindred Spirits to New York
Much has recently been made of the complaisance of boards of directors with respect to outrageous go read more »
A Sad Wall Street Story Line: Quality Engulfed by Mediocrity
"The problem with Wall Street," my lunch companion remarked, "was that in a firm employing many thou read more »
What Ails Michael Eisner? A Corporate Tyrant Dissected
DisneyWar, by James B. Stewart. read more »
Last Word in DUMBO: I Voted With My Head, But Not My Kishkes
BROOKLYN, N.Y.-7:30 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. read more »
I’ll Vote for Kerry—Despite Revulsion For Bush-Haters
"So here it is at last, the distinguished thing."Henry James was speaking of death, but were he aliv read more »
In My Midas Rating, Kerry Beats George On the Negatives
Last week, two days before the third debate, John Kerry had an opportunity to do something that coul read more »
The Kerry Quandary
Three hundred million people in this great Republic and we get these two to vote for. read more »
You Don't Have to Be Scaife To Loathe Clintons and Their Era
There are times that one is proud to be a part of this nation, this city, this culture. read more »
Forget About Enron-Is Glorious Golfing Being Corrupted?
Ten days in Jamaica did wonders for the spirit. read more »
The Roots of Enron
There's a lot to think about these days, in both a major and a minor key, depending on what you thin read more »
Deep in Heart of Enron Live Best Bush Buddies
So far, 2002 is turning out to be a bust. We haven't found bin Laden yet. read more »
In the Age of Paradox, Action Supplants Attitude
In our self-proclaimed headlong abandonment of the Age of Irony, we may be rushing into an Age of Pa read more »
Poor Alfred Taubman Is Getting a Big Shaft
On the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. read more »
The Midas Watch
One reason I love the Yale alumni magazine is that each new issue provides another compelling reason read more »
The Midas Watch
Mozart and the Beasts: Bargemusic Floats Me History Happens, Brahms Sustains; Now Let Me Rant About read more »
How to Convert 'What If' Into 'What Should Be'
I haven't been to ground zero. read more »
After '63 and '68 Some of Us Can Be Useful
Decade of 'Buzz' Forgotten; The Chatterati Get 'Serious' The city is engulfed in emotion. read more »
Neutron Jack's Perfect Career
Jack: Straight from the Gut, by Jack Welch (with John A. Byrne). read more »
Were Bravest Sent on a Suicide Mission?
Here dead lie we because we did not choose
To live and shame the land read more »
from whence we sprung.
Hard Truths Have Replaced Age of Lying
On Saturday, Aug. 18, TheNew York Times published a piece on the hasty forced resignation-or, as we read more »
