The New York Times has published five Op-Ed pieces by former employees of Bear Sterns. To hear Thomas Flexner, the former vice chairman, tell it, the world has lost a “truly giving firm.” He describes the grief his colleagues felt at its demise in terms of Didion’s account of the year following her husband’s death:
Desperation finally gave way to exhaustion. We all realized a deal had to get done because it was clear that the government believed that the systemic risk associated with a bankruptcy filing was too great. The end was mercifully swift — death by guillotine — but it was death nonetheless.
Since then, many of my former partners have undergone a variation of Joan Didion’s “Year of Magical Thinking,” but I for one have definitely moved on. I only hope that when future generations think about Bear Stearns, if they do at all, they will also remember its philanthropy. Bear Stearns instilled a sense of social obligation in many of us. As far as I’m concerned, that’s its true legacy.
Readers will be glad to learn that Flexner has landed on his feet; he is now the global head of real estate for Citigroup…
