Growing up in the Soviet Union, I never dreamed about working on Wall Street – these jobs simply did not exist in the Communist Russia. But now, being in New York things changed. So, one day, I happened to be in the right place at the right time saying the right things to the right people. This small conversation landed me a job on Wall Street where I spent 4 years working for Salomon Smith Barney in the Asset Management.
Salomon Brothers, Inc.
Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York. It was one of the five largest investment banking enterprises in the United States and the most profitable firm on Wall Street during the 1980s and 1990s. Its CEO and chairman at that time, John Gutfreund, was nicknamed “the King of Wall Street”.
Salomon Brothers served many of the largest corporations in America. At one time, it was the leading underwriter of corporate bonds and the largest dealer of Treasury Securities in the United States. It was also one of the top firms in futures and options (known as “derivatives”) and in securitization in a range of asset classes including commercial real estate securities.
The bank was famed for its “cutthroat corporate culture that rewarded risk-taking with massive bonuses, punishing poor results with a swift boot.” In Michael Lewis’ 1989 book Liar’s Poker, the insider descriptions of life at Salomon gave way to the popular view of banking in the 1980s and ’90s as a money-focused and work-intense environment.
In February 2022, it was announced that the Salomon Brothers brand will be revived by a group of former employees and execs and operate as a full-service investment bank again.
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