Ex-Citigroup banker Zankel dead in (9 storey) fall (Reuters)

[Up2Late]

(Normally, I wouldn't expect anyone here to care about the death of an "Ex-Citigroup banker", but this guy was one of the Good Guys. He gave the money for Zankel Hall at Carnegie at Carnegie Hall in New York)

Ex-Citigroup banker Zankel dead in fall

Sat Jul 30, 2005 05:24 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Arthur Zankel, a former Citigroup financier and patron of the arts, died in a fall from the ninth floor of his Manhattan apartment building, a family member said. Zankel, 73, in a fall from the Fifth Avenue building on Thursday, his son Tom Zankel said.

He had been suffering from depression, The New York Times on Saturday quoted Sanford Weill, a close friend and the chairman of Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) as saying. Weill recalled him as a friend of 50 years and the "most valued adviser" of his career.

Zankel served on Citigroup's board until 2004, when he reached the mandatory retirement age. At Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, where he was vice chairman of the board at the time of his death, he made a $10 million donation toward a new concert space.

"What he wanted to do with the Zankel Hall at Carnegie was open Carnegie Hall up to a new generation of patrons through offering new and different types of programs and artists," Tom Zankel said. The Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall, which opened in September 2003, seats about 600 people and features music from classical to jazz and pop.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=9222277&src=rss/domesticNews>
(more news at link above)

[Barkley]

1. I guess money really can't buy happiness...

but it sure makes a nice down payment.

[Twillig]

3. It can buy you an apartment on Fifth Avenue

right next to it.

[whistle]

2. Why would an ex-CitiGroup executive financier who himself is...

....financially secure and solid ass he was reported to be, go and throw himself out of his 9th floor apartment window? Unless, he knew that there is something really major, something devastating and something very disturbing about to happen in the financial community.

[Up2Late]

4. I hate to let my "Conspiracy Theorist" side show, but my feeling is...

...he was pushed, he might have pissed off an investor (the Mob), but that's just my gut feeling.

[wli]

5. this isn't the first suspicious fall since Bushler took office

My default assumption is that there was foul play. No idea who or why, but this "suicide" stuff is pretty blatant as a lie.

[havocmom]

7. Yeah, some of those apartments up high have, um, stubborn windows.

Often a guy who is depressed requires a lot of help with those windows.

[Patty Diana]

21. Maybe Sonny bashed the window out

[sallyseven]

10. There are people who when they work 100 hours a week

and are in the thick of the daily struggle miss it when it is no longer there. Sometimes retirement affects people differently.
All the money in the world is not enough for a person who's is not ready to retire. His power was gone. His value to himself was gone. It is a sad thing because his family didn't mean enough for him to want to live. Think about it my friends.

[AngryOldDem]

18. Depression?

Sometimes severe depression does that to a person.

[Dover]

6. Personal info on Zankel

Arthur Zankel

Zankel has a strong connection to educating people to empower them. In his midtown office, chains of numbers float by on two large computer screens on his desk. It's obvious that he likes math, odds, and probabilities. After chatting with him for a few minutes, one can tell that he obviously loves education.

Teachers College is especially important to Zankel because he is interested in educating people in low-income areas. He said that education is the key to helping people to follow their dreams and pursue careers they would enjoy.

"If you look around the world, there is only democracy where there are minimal education standards," said Zankel. "Being involved with Teachers College is an excellent opportunity to do amazing things for both education and the College itself."

Zankel's busy life includes serving on the Board of Directors of Citigroup as well as being trustees of Carnegie Hall, Skidmore College, Jerusalem Foundation, UJA-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.

A New York resident, Zankel has four children with his wife, Judy, who is an artist. He earned a B.S. in Economics from University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

http://www.tc.columbia.edu/news/article.htm?id=3762

________________________________________________________________


Arthur Zankel is currently Managing Partner of High Rise Capital Management, L.P., advisors to the High Rise and Cedar Bridge real estate securities investment partnerships. Prior to forming the High Rise partnerships in 2000, he was Co-Managing Partner of First Manhattan Co., investment advisors, for almost twenty years. He has served as a director of various companies, presently and currently serves on the Board of White Mountains Insurance Group. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of MSL Industries.

Mr. Zankel is Vice Chairman of Carnegie Hall, a Vice Chairman Teachers College at Columbia, and Patron of Our Lady of Mercy School. He formerly chaired the Investment Committees of Carnegie Hall, UJA-Federation, New York Foundation, and Skidmore College. He is the father of four sons and lives in New York City with his wife Judy, an illustrator. Mr. Zankel holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a Doctor of Laws (Honorary) from Skidmore College.
http://www.brandeis.edu/global/news_cal_item2.php?event_id=450

[Nevernose]

13. Sounds like a hell of a guy

I'm sure that his support of Columbia's Teacher College has, over the years, improved the lives of thousands of people and made a world of difference for many more.

[tibbir]

8. Depression crosses all socio-political lines.

No amount of being rich and secure can keep you from attempting - or succeeding at - suicide if you become depressed enough.

[lateo]

11. Indeed...

I can't help but wonder if this guy was taking an anti-depressant.

[Dover]

12. Just some bits and pieces from a google

Litigation: Zankel, Weill, et al.

Rodman Insurance Agency v. Travelers Property Casualty
http://www.Legalcasedocs.com/120/240/407.html

Crandon Capital Partners v. Lipp
http://www.Legalcasedocs.com/120/240/417.html

Settos v. Travelers Property Casualty
http://corporate-law.widener.edu/documents/complaints/17929-001.pdf



Insider & restricted shareholder transactions reported over the last two years
ZANKEL, ARTHUR: Declared Holdings: http://biz.yahoo.com/t/96/1308.html
Date Shares Stock Transaction
2001-12-20 26,000 C Disposition (Non Open Market)



CITIGROUP -

http://www.citibank.com/citigroup/fin/data/ar031c_zh.pdf

http://www.endgame.org/citigroup.html

Citigroup's Involvement in Wood Products, Oil, and Mining
http://www.endgame.org/citigroup.html

[DeepModem Mom]

9. I understand Zankel, who was a "good guy," was ill...

which contributed to his depression. Don't know the nature of the illness. Thanks for posting, Up2Late.

[CBHagman]

14. It's tragic.

I'm sorry to hear of this, especially considering the reports the guy was suffering from depression. Too many people are lost to that illness, and it doesn't matter what income bracket they were in or what their ideology was.

May his soul be in peace.

[whistle]

15. Arthur Zankel seems like a very wealthy individual.....

....was he considered part of Bush's base?

[Up2Late]

16. Kick n/t

:kick:

[Tai-chi]

17. Guess he knew too much about the $17Billion Parmalat scandal...

AP
Friday July 29, 11:11 am ET
Prosecutors Ask for Indictments for Five Banks and Securities Firms in Parmalat Collapse

ROME (AP) -- Prosecutors in Milan asked a judge on Friday to issue indictments against five global banks and securities companies for securities law violations in connection with the collapse of Italian dairy company Parmalat, news reports said.
The requests involve 13 people and units of UBS AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc. and Nextra, Italian news agencies ANSA and Apcom and MF-Dow Jones reported.

Prosecutors in Milan could not be reached to confirm the reports. Parmalat refused to comment on the indictment requests.

Authorities allege the banks provided false information on Parmalat Finanziaria SpA's finances before the company collapsed into bankruptcy following an accounting scandal in December 2003, the reports said.

The charges include market rigging and obstructing Consob, Italy's market regulator, and involve UBS Ltd., which is the British unit of the Swiss bank; the Milan and London units of Deutsche Bank; London's Morgan Stanley International Ltd.; the Italian unit of Citigroup; Nextra, which is the asset manager of Banca Intesa, and 13 people connected to these institutions.

Those involved allegedly provided false information to investors, encouraging them to buy Parmalat stock and bonds, while the institutions didn't have the proper structures in place to prevent the alleged violations, ANSA said.

Citigroup Italy said it had not seen any indictment requests, adding that the bank and its employees were not responsible for the Parmalat fraud but were instead its "single biggest victim."

UBS Ltd. called the indictment request a "procedural step" in the Milan investigation and denied the charges. Parmalat was rated as a sound investment by independent agencies and UBS' employees were not aware of the true state of the company's finances, the bank said.

Morgan Stanley, Banca Intesa and Deutsche Bank would not comment on the reports.

Securities law violations carry a maximum of five years in jail in Italy. It was not immediately known when a decision would be made on the indictment requests.


http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050729/italy_parmalat_banks.html?.v=1&printer=1

More about the huge Parmalat scandal with the missing $17Billion:
http://worldvisionportal.org/WVPforum/viewtopic.php?t=176

[Up2Late]

19. Might be right, here's more: Prosecutors pursue Parmalat banks (BBC)

Friday, 29 July 2005, 16:18 GMT 17:18 UK

Prosecutors pursue Parmalat banks

Italian prosecutors reportedly want four leading banks and asset management firm Nextra to stand trial over the collapse of food firm Parmalat.

The banks are Citigroup and Morgan Stanley of the US, Deutsche Bank of Germany and UBS of Switzerland, Reuters cited a judicial source as saying. Prosecutors also want 13 executives from the firms to be tried.

Parmalat collapsed with debts of 14bn euros (£9.66bn; $17bn) but has gained permission to re-float in Italy. The dairy firm's collapse in 2003 sent shockwaves through Italy where Parmalat was a household name and major employer.

The dairy firm misled borrowed money on the strength of invented assets before a spectacular collapse that left investors reeling. In June, a Milan judge handed down jail sentences of up to two-and-a-half years to 11 people, mostly ex-Parmalat executives, who included the firm's former finance chief Fausto Tonna.

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4728615.stm>
(more at link above)

[Up2Late]

20. Related? -- Ex-ECB (Euro. Central Bank) Chief found dead in pool (BBC)

Sunday, 31 July 2005, 18:17 GMT 19:17 UK

Ex-ECB chief found dead in pool

Wim Duisenberg, the former head of the European Central Bank, has been found dead in a pool at his villa in south-east France, French police say.

Police have not yet given a cause for his death, but say he was found on Sunday morning in the town of Faucon. The former Dutch finance minister was the ECB's first president, and oversaw the introduction of the single European currency, the euro.

The 70-year-old had stepped down in 2003 after five years in the job. Under Mr Duisenberg, the euro moved from a market-traded currency to coins and notes in the pockets of people in 12 European countries. Current ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet called the death a "terrible loss".

'Mr Euro'

Born in 1935, Mr Duisenberg worked for the International Monetary Fund before serving as his country's finance minister from 1973 and 1977. A member of the Dutch Socialist Party, his views on responsible economic management changed. Later in life, he preferred strong fiscal discipline rather than a strategy of promoting growth through major public spending.

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4733081.stm>
(more at the link above)

[DoYouEverWonder]

22. Not a good day for bankers

I suppose?

[leftofthedial]

23. even good people don't see the point anymore

makes you wonder