Salomon Brothers

For other uses of the name Salomon, see Salomon.
Salomon Brothers, Inc.
Company typePublic
NYSE: SB
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1910; 114 years ago (1910)
FoundersArthur Salomon
Herbert Salomon
Percy Salomon
Defunct2003; 21 years ago (2003) (name dropped by Citigroup)
FateAcquired by Travelers Group in 1997
SuccessorSalomon Smith Barney (1997–2004), Smith Barney (2003–2009)
Headquarters7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10006
U.S.
Key people
John Gutfreund (chairman, 1978–1991)
Warren Buffett (chairman, 1991–1997)
Deryck Maughan (CEO, 1992–1997)
ProductsSales and trading, Investment banking
RevenueIncrease US$9.046 billion (1996)[1]
Increase US$617 million (1996)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$194.881 billion (1996)[1]
Number of employees
Increase 7,100 (1996)[1]

Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York City. It was one of the five largest investment banking enterprises in the United States[2] and a very profitable firm on Wall Street during the 1980s and 1990s. Its CEO and chairman at that time, John Gutfreund, was nicknamed "the King of Wall Street".[3][4][5][6]

Salomon Brothers served many of the largest corporations in America. It was a leading underwriter of corporate bonds and one of the top firms in futures and options (known as "derivatives") and in securitization in a range of asset classes including commercial real estate securities.[7]

The bank was famed for its "cutthroat corporate culture that rewarded risk-taking with massive bonuses, punishing poor results with a swift boot."[8] In Michael Lewis' 1989 book Liar's Poker, the insider descriptions of life at Salomon gave way to the popular view of banking in the 1980s and 1990s as a money-focused and work-intensive environment.[9] It was acquired by Travelers Group in 1997, which in turn became part of Citigroup the next year.

In February 2022, it was announced that the Salomon Brothers brand will be revived by a group of former employees and execs and operate as full-service investment bank again.[10][11]

  1. ^ a b c d Travelers Group SEC Form 8-K Filing September 2007
  2. ^ "Warren Buffett's Wild Ride at Salomon (Fortune, 1997)". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  3. ^ Collins, Denis (1992). Lewis, Michael (ed.). "An Ethical Analysis of Organizational Power at Salomon Brothers". Business Ethics Quarterly. 2 (3): 367–377. doi:10.2307/3857539. ISSN 1052-150X. JSTOR 3857539. S2CID 53527583.
  4. ^ Tablang, Kristin. "'King of Wall Street' John Gutfreund's $120 Million Fifth Avenue Duplex Crowned New York's Priciest Home Listing". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  5. ^ Fox, Emily Jane (9 March 2016). ""King of Wall Street" John Gutfreund Dies at 86". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  6. ^ Kandell, Jonathan (2016-03-10). "John Gutfreund, 86, Dies; Ran Wall Street Investment Firm at Its Apex". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  7. ^ Geisst (2001-03-08). The Last Partnerships: Inside the Great Wall Street Dynasties. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-136999-2.
  8. ^ Chen, Full Bio Follow Linkedin Follow Twitter James; CMT; Investing, Is the Former Director of; trader, trading content at Investopedia He is an expert; Adviser, Investment; Chen, global market strategist Learn about our editorial policies James. "Salomon Brothers". Investopedia. Retrieved 2021-06-21. {{cite web}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ Gross, Daniel (2008-09-25). "The end of the BSD". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  10. ^ "Salomon Brothers alumni are reviving the swashbuckling bank made famous by 'Liar's Poker'". Fortune. 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  11. ^ "Salomon Brothers Alumni Tap Storied Firm's Legacy in Revival". bloomberg.com. 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-03-04.