Bruce Wasserstein | Thinking of Hiring Lazard? | About Lazard | In the News | Press Releases 
From "Humble" Beginnings to Bid 'Em Up Bruce
Bruce Wasserstein, age 60, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Lazard, Ltd. and Lazard Group.7 He and his family have a significant ownership stake in Lazard Alternative Investments, which controls Atria Senior Living.
The son of a wealthy textile executive, Wasserstein was born and raised in New York City. He began his career in the 1970's as a mergers and corporate finance attorney for Cravath, Swaine, and Moore.8
In 1977, Wasserstein left Cravath to join First Boston Corp.'s mergers and acquisition department.9 He quickly became one of Wall Street's preeminent dealmakers, earning the nickname "Bid 'Em Up Bruce" for his "knack in persuading clients to overpay for acquisitions, fattening his own fees."10
In February 1988, Wasserstein and Joseph Perella, First Boston's M&A director, left the firm to start Wasserstein, Perella and Company, taking many of First Boston's clients and personnel with them.11 He later sold Wasserstein Perella to Germany's Dresdner Bank for $1.3 billion, pocketing $600 million in the transaction.12
Wasserstein joined Lazard as the CEO in 2002. In 2005, he took the firm public, ousting Lazard's chairman, Michel David-Weill, and putting an end to their widely-publicized feud.13
According to the International Herald Tribune, "David-Weill, a great-grandson of the bank's founders, had ferociously fought the public offering but conceded last year when he gave Wasserstein an ultimatum: Complete the offering by the end of 2005, or risk being fired … Lazard's filing may explain why Wasserstein has pushed so hard for a public offering. If the offering is completed, the $30 million investment that Wasserstein made in Lazard three years ago would be worth about $300 million." 14
Wasserstein also owns Wasserstein & Co., a private equity business that was spun off when Dresdner Bank Acquired Wasserstein Perella in 2000.15
Last year, Wasserstein donated $25 million to Harvard Law School for the construction of Wasserstein Hall.16