Alan "Ace" Greenberg, the executive who helped turn Bear Stearns
Cos. into one of the world's biggest and most daring investment
banks, died in New York on Friday at the age of 86 of complications
from cancer.
Mr. Greenberg began his career at Bear Stearns in 1949 and rose
through the ranks over many decades, taking over as chief executive
in 1978 and running the New York firm until 1993, when he handed
the reins to trusted acolyte James Cayne. An avid card player, Mr.
Greenberg liked tough-minded risk takers and found, in Mr. Cayne, a
like-minded protégé.
Mr. Greenberg was raised in Oklahoma City and briefly attended
the University of Oklahoma on a football scholarship. He brought an
outsider's sensibility to Wall Street. While rival investment banks
such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and J.P. Morgan fashioned
themselves as white-shoe firms catering to the global elite, Bear
Stearns was a scrappy upstart that often managed to out-hustle
rivals on deals.
Bear Stearns nearly collapsed in March 2008 as clients grew
concerned about the risky mortgage securities Bear had created, and
pulled their money en masse. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. bought the
firm for $10 a share after initially striking a deal at $2.
Mr. Greenberg's death was confirmed by his son, Theodore.
Write to Michael Rapoport at Michael.Rapoport@wsj.com
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