Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) CEO Bruce Wasserstein got excellent cover from the latest issue of BusinessWeek. I had hoped for more aggressive reporting but I did enjoy the description of Wasserstein's passionate consumption of a coffee and ice cream concoction during the interview.
That short description has catalyzed the media commentary on the article -- which has focused not on Wasserstein's achievements at Lazard but on his physical health or lack thereof. With the help of my sources, I take responsibility for this focus since I wrote a Blogging Stocks post in July that brought into the blogosphere the open secret that Wasserstein disappeared from view in February and reappeared four months later looking 50 pounds lighter and 20 years older.
I think those in the mainstream media who I've spoken with about the Wasserstein health rumors have let him off without asking the hard and uncomfortable questions about his health that should be of concern to investors in Lazard. One of my sources was amazed that the article did not appear to have inquired about Wasserstein's seven week absence from the firm earlier this year. He also viewed as a whitewash the article's contention that Wasserstein had gone to London in 2000 to "build a top-tier investment bank" after Dresdner Bank acquired Wasserstein Perella. My source believes that the real reason Wasserstein went to London was to avoid paying US New York taxes on the $600 million in proceeds he received from the sale of his firm.
Here's an excerpt from the article that addresses the health rumors:
"The once-portly Wasserstein lost so much weight in recent months that rumors began circulating that he was gravely ill. "It's just silly," says Wasserstein, who adds that he began exercising with a personal trainer to shed the pounds he piled on after joining Lazard. "I'm exactly the same weight I was 10 years ago. I go through these cycles. I am trying to be fit."
About 45 minutes into an interview, Wasserstein jumps up and walks across his office to fetch an elaborate coffee-and-ice-cream concoction melting on a table. "My secretary gave it to me," he says, attacking the drink with a plastic spoon.
"Is it your birthday?" I ask.
"No, no, it's to fortify me for my first press interview," he says, a bit sheepishly. "Oh, the horrors!""
I think reporters in the mainstream media should have been asking some hard questions back in July which remain unanswered in this article:
- Was Wasserstein away from the office between February 2006 to May 2006?
- If so, why was his absence not disclosed?
- Did Wasserstein have a medical emergency which prompted his absence?
- If so, what was this emergency?
- What caused Wasserstein's sudden weight loss?
- If Wasserstein is so committed to losing and keeping off weight, why is he drinking a coffee ice cream drink -- and in front of a reporter?
And I'd like to ask reporters in the mainstream business media to go on the record with their answers to the following questions:
- Why have you declined to report on Wasserstein's health, particularly when in some cases your sources were confirming the rumors I had been hearing?
- Do you need to stay on good terms with Wasserstein in order to gain access to stories that will help your career?
- Would you like to keep open the option of working for New York magazine -- which Wasserstein owns?
Call me naive but I think the media should provide aggressive reporting for the public rather than excellent cover for the likes of Wasserstein.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, and a Professor of Management at Babson College. He has no financial interest in Lazard.
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