I’m a big fan of Michael Lewis. “Liar’s Poker,” his first book on his short career a Salomon, in many ways parallels my own short experience at Bear Stearns. His newest work, “The Big Short,” takes us inside the financial collapse and he sat down with 60 Minutes to discuss it.
The first segment of the interview focuses mainly on the causes of the collapse and the few individuals who profited from it. For those interested in a simple explanation of the causes of the collapse this is a must watch:
I was at least as equally intrigued, however by the second segment in which Lewis discusses the ethics of Wall Street pay. Wall Street bankers and brokers don’t earn a living, Lewis says, they “finagle” it. Wall Street essentially practices a “really elegant form of theft,” he says. Watch the interview for details: