The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade That Transformed Wall Street

Investment bankers used to be known as respectful of their clients, loyal to their firms, and chary of the financial system that allowed them to prosper. What happened? From his prestigious Wall Street perches at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Jonathan A. Knee witnessed firsthand the lavish deal-making of the freewheeling nineties, when bankers rode the wave of the Internet economy, often by devil-may-care means. By the turn of the twenty-first century, the bubble burst and the industry was in free fall. Told with biting humor and unflinching honesty, populated with power players, back-stabbers, and gazillionaires, The Accidental Investment Banker is Knee’s exhilarating insider’s account of this boom-and-bust anything-goes era, when fortunes were made and reputations were lost.
“A rare, ringside seat inside the madcap and often egomaniacal world of Wall Street’s Masters of the Universe . . . For would-be bankers, the book is an excellent primer on what it’s really like; for current bankers it will be a guilty pleasure.”
–The New York Times
“Finally we have someone willing to lift the curtain. . . . With refreshing candor and engaging prose, [this book] takes us inside the world of investment banking.”
–James B. Stewart, author of Den of Thieves and DisneyWar
“[Knee] captures the glories and agonies of his profession. General readers will marvel.”
–The Wall Street Journal
“Entertainingly indiscreet . . . Knee’s talent for wicked pen portraits is put to good use.”
–Financial Times
“For anyone who remembers the crazy boom times, and the even crazier bust, Jonathan A. Knee’s The Accidental Investment Banker is a must. This tell-all chronicles Knee’s time at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, revealing a world that rivals 24 in intrigue and drama.”
–Fortune