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.

Is Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) CEO Bruce Wasserstein seriously ill? That's the word I'm hearing from the clubby world of Wall Street.

Wasserstein is arguably the leading investment banker of his generation. A graduate of Harvard's law and business schools, Wasserstein rose to prominence during the 1980s as part of a dynamic duo of M&A bankers at First Boston -- where he earned the moniker "Bid-em-up Bruce" for his aggressive negotiating style. In 1988 Wasserstein co-founded Wasserstein Perella & Co. with his First Boston partner, Joe Perella, which they sold to Germany's Dresdner Bank for $1.37 billion in 2000. He joined Lazard with the title Head of Lazard in 2002. His challenge was to take the 157 year old partnership public -- which he met in May 2005. Since then, Lazard's stock has risen 50%.

According to my source, a few weeks after the tragic death of his beloved sister Wendy, from lymphoma, and just after delivering his infamous report on Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), Bruce went into hiding for some eight weeks. He has lost 50 pounds and is said to look like a wobbly, 75-year-old. Bruce is 58 and has always been portly. He is apparently now back at work at Lazard and is to give a speech today.