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Five Years Later: On the Brink - The New Prologue: A Look Back on What Happened, Why it Did, and Could it Happen Again?
Henry M. Paulson, former Treasury Secretary, looks back on the financial crisis on its five year anniversary, and examines what happened, why it happened, and if it could happen again.
41 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
19 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Henry M. Paulson Jr.
15 books70 followersHenry Merritt "Hank" Paulson, Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is an American banker who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury. He had served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs, and is now chairman of the Paulson Institute, which he founded in 2011 to promote sustainable economic growth and a cleaner environment around the world, with an initial focus on the United States and China.
Paulson was born in Palm Beach, Florida, to Marianna (née Gallauer) and Henry Merritt Paulson, a wholesale jeweler. A star athlete at Barrington High School, Paulson was a champion wrestler and stand-out football player, graduating in 1964. Paulson received his A.B. in English from Dartmouth College in 1968; at Dartmouth he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Alpha Epsilon and he was an All-Ivy, All-East, and honorable mention All American as an offensive lineman. Paulson received his Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School in 1970.
He met his wife, Wendy Judge, a Wellesley College graduate, during his senior year. The couple have two adult children, sports-team owner Henry Merritt Paulson III, more commonly known as Merritt Paulson, and journalist Amanda Paulson. The Paulsons became grandparents in June 2007. They maintain homes in both Barrington Hills and Chicago.
Paulson was Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense at The Pentagon from 1970 to 1972. He then worked for the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon, serving as assistant to John Ehrlichman from 1972 to 1973.
He joined Goldman Sachs in 1974, working in the firm's Chicago office under James P. Gorter, covering large industrial companies in the Midwest. He became a partner in 1982. From 1983 until 1988, Paulson led the Investment Banking group for the Midwest Region, and became managing partner of the Chicago office in 1988. From 1990 to November 1994, he was co-head of Investment Banking, then Chief Operating Officer from December 1994 to June 1998, eventually succeeding Jon Corzine as chief executive. His compensation package, according to reports, was $37 million in 2005, and $16.4 million projected for 2006. His net worth has been estimated at over $700 million.
Paulson was nominated on May 30, 2006, by U.S. President George W. Bush to succeed John Snow as the Treasury Secretary. On June 28, 2006, he was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve in the position. Paulson was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Treasury Department on the morning of July 10, 2006.
Paulson identified the wide gap between the richest and poorest Americans as an issue on his list of the country's four major long-term economic issues to be addressed, highlighting the issue in one of his first public appearances as Secretary of Treasury. Paulson conceded that chances were slim for agreeing on a method to reform Social Security financing, but said he would keep trying to find bipartisan support for it. He also helped to create the Hope Now Alliance to help struggling homeowners during the subprime mortgage crisis.
After leaving his role as Treasury Secretary, Paulson spent a year at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University as a distinguished visiting fellow, and a fellow at the university's Bernard Schwartz Forum on Constructive Capitalism. His memoir, On the Brink Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System, was published by Hachette Book Group on February 1, 2010.
On June 27, 2011, Paulson announced the formation of the Paulson Institute, an independent center located at the University of Chicago, dedicated to fostering international engagement to address issues of global scope, with particular emphasis on cooperation between the United States and China. Paulson was also named as a senior fellow at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. His five-year appointment took effect July 1, 2
Paulson was born in Palm Beach, Florida, to Marianna (née Gallauer) and Henry Merritt Paulson, a wholesale jeweler. A star athlete at Barrington High School, Paulson was a champion wrestler and stand-out football player, graduating in 1964. Paulson received his A.B. in English from Dartmouth College in 1968; at Dartmouth he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Alpha Epsilon and he was an All-Ivy, All-East, and honorable mention All American as an offensive lineman. Paulson received his Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School in 1970.
He met his wife, Wendy Judge, a Wellesley College graduate, during his senior year. The couple have two adult children, sports-team owner Henry Merritt Paulson III, more commonly known as Merritt Paulson, and journalist Amanda Paulson. The Paulsons became grandparents in June 2007. They maintain homes in both Barrington Hills and Chicago.
Paulson was Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense at The Pentagon from 1970 to 1972. He then worked for the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon, serving as assistant to John Ehrlichman from 1972 to 1973.
He joined Goldman Sachs in 1974, working in the firm's Chicago office under James P. Gorter, covering large industrial companies in the Midwest. He became a partner in 1982. From 1983 until 1988, Paulson led the Investment Banking group for the Midwest Region, and became managing partner of the Chicago office in 1988. From 1990 to November 1994, he was co-head of Investment Banking, then Chief Operating Officer from December 1994 to June 1998, eventually succeeding Jon Corzine as chief executive. His compensation package, according to reports, was $37 million in 2005, and $16.4 million projected for 2006. His net worth has been estimated at over $700 million.
Paulson was nominated on May 30, 2006, by U.S. President George W. Bush to succeed John Snow as the Treasury Secretary. On June 28, 2006, he was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve in the position. Paulson was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Treasury Department on the morning of July 10, 2006.
Paulson identified the wide gap between the richest and poorest Americans as an issue on his list of the country's four major long-term economic issues to be addressed, highlighting the issue in one of his first public appearances as Secretary of Treasury. Paulson conceded that chances were slim for agreeing on a method to reform Social Security financing, but said he would keep trying to find bipartisan support for it. He also helped to create the Hope Now Alliance to help struggling homeowners during the subprime mortgage crisis.
After leaving his role as Treasury Secretary, Paulson spent a year at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University as a distinguished visiting fellow, and a fellow at the university's Bernard Schwartz Forum on Constructive Capitalism. His memoir, On the Brink Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System, was published by Hachette Book Group on February 1, 2010.
On June 27, 2011, Paulson announced the formation of the Paulson Institute, an independent center located at the University of Chicago, dedicated to fostering international engagement to address issues of global scope, with particular emphasis on cooperation between the United States and China. Paulson was also named as a senior fellow at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. His five-year appointment took effect July 1, 2
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 2, 2020
The hero of the printing press is looking back at the days when the buckets of green ink were almost empty. Luckily for Humanity he has worked overtime at the most expensive restaurants money can buy and yes, the inflation is back at the high levels it should be.
May 27, 2021
Just a prologue, but dense in ideas and thoughts. Since I liked the prologue, I will read the full book
December 26, 2013
An insider's story of the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Written in the crisp form of an IBD memo.
Paulson says he remains a free market advocate. Yet his actions and recommendations he sums up so well in the Afterward belie that position.
The actions by the Treasury:
- guarantee of money market funds
- Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility
- Conservatorship for Fannie and Freddie
- Encouragement of banks to modify mortgages
- Use or Tarp money to buy equity stakes in banks.
Actions required
- Adjust global imbalance of low US savings and high deficit
- Fix the regulatory system
- Restrict leverage
- Address too big to fail
Other suggestions
- Give regulators power to wind down non bank financial institutions
- Set pay standards
- Create new housing policy using GSEs
- Make cds more transparent
- Reform rating agencies
Paulson says he remains a free market advocate. Yet his actions and recommendations he sums up so well in the Afterward belie that position.
The actions by the Treasury:
- guarantee of money market funds
- Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility
- Conservatorship for Fannie and Freddie
- Encouragement of banks to modify mortgages
- Use or Tarp money to buy equity stakes in banks.
Actions required
- Adjust global imbalance of low US savings and high deficit
- Fix the regulatory system
- Restrict leverage
- Address too big to fail
Other suggestions
- Give regulators power to wind down non bank financial institutions
- Set pay standards
- Create new housing policy using GSEs
- Make cds more transparent
- Reform rating agencies
June 8, 2014
This book seems to me an attempt to make the author’s actions during the financial meltdown more palatable to the average person. I guess you could say it’s his attempt at redemption. I can understand that and I guess it's what I expected. Honestly, he should have probably set the manuscript aside, let it simmer, and then rewrite it a couple of times which would have made for a more coherent whole.
Some of what I wanted to learn wasn't here in this prologue. I was kind of hoping to find out a little more in depth about what happened but I never really did. How did he know the banks were failing? Now, that is something that could be helpful to many. Most of it really isn’t anything new unless you hadn’t read any news stories in the last eight years.
Some of what I wanted to learn wasn't here in this prologue. I was kind of hoping to find out a little more in depth about what happened but I never really did. How did he know the banks were failing? Now, that is something that could be helpful to many. Most of it really isn’t anything new unless you hadn’t read any news stories in the last eight years.
January 15, 2016
This book lives up to its expectations. 1) Detailed account of the passage of time of the 2008 recession and 2) Because it is written by Paulson, it had to be diplomatic to the core (even underplaying the panic-stricken Lehman CEO, Richard Fuld Jr.).
Nonetheless, the book provides certain details which only a man on the inside would know and that makes this book a good read, though not as thrilling as "Too Big Too Fail".
Nonetheless, the book provides certain details which only a man on the inside would know and that makes this book a good read, though not as thrilling as "Too Big Too Fail".
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews