Steven Rattner

This article is about the founder of Quadrangle Group and former U.S. Treasury Auto Industry Advisor . For the former head of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, see Steven C. Rattner.

Steven Lawrence Rattner
Steven Rattner at the Financial Times View from the Top conference in 2011
Born	July 5, 1952 (1952-07-05) Great Neck, New York
Residence	New York, New York
Nationality	United States
Education	Brown University
Occupation	Private equity investor, investment banker, journalist
Employer	Quadrangle Group, Lazard Freres & Co., New York Times
Known for	U.S. Treasury Auto Industry Advisor during Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2009
Spouse	Maureen White
Children	4

Steven Lawrence Rattner (born July 5, 1952) is an American financier who served as the lead auto advisor (popularly known as the "car czar") in the United States Treasury Department under President Barack Obama. Prior to his government service, he was a co-founder and managing principal of the Quadrangle Group, a global private equity firm specializing in the media and communications industries. He previously spent two decades as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, and Lazard Freres & Co., where he rose to Deputy Chairman and Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Rattner began his career as a reporter for The New York Times, principally as an economic correspondent in New York, Washington and London.

Rattner is currently chairman of Willett Advisors LLC, the investment firm that manages New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's personal and philanthropic assets. He continues to be deeply involved in public policy matters, including as a Contributing Writer for the Op-Ed page of The New York Times, as the author of a monthly column for the Financial Times, and as the economic analyst for MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Education and background

Born in New York City, Rattner was raised in the suburb of Great Neck, where he attended local public schools. He received his A.B. with honors in economics from Brown University in 1974 and was awarded the Harvey Baker Fellowship. While at Brown, he served as editor-in-chief of The Brown Daily Herald in 1973.

Career in journalism

Upon graduating from Brown, Rattner was hired in Washington as news clerk to the legendary New York Times columnist James Reston. After a year, he was transferred to New York as a reporter, covering business and energy. In 1977, he was sent back to Washington, initially to cover the energy crisis. At age 27, he became the paper's chief Washington economic correspondent, where he became close friends with future Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. He concluded his service to The New York Times with a two-year stint in London as European economic correspondent.

Career in finance

At the end of 1982, Rattner left The New York Times and was recruited by Roger Altman to join the investment bank Lehman Brothers as an associate. After Lehman was sold to American Express in 1984, he followed Eric Gleacher and several colleagues to Morgan Stanley, where he founded the firm's communications group. In 1989, after Morgan Stanley filed for an IPO, he joined Lazard as a general partner and completed various deals for companies such as Viacom and Comcast. He was named Deputy Chairman and Deputy Chief Executive in 1997.

In 2000, Rattner and three Lazard partners left the firm and founded the Quadrangle Group, which initially focused on investing a $1 billion media-focused private equity fund. Under Rattner's leadership, Quadrangle grew to manage more than $6 billion across several businesses, including private equity, distressed securities, and hedge funds. In 2008, the firm announced it had been selected to manage the personal assets of Rattner's close friend, the billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Public service

From his tenure with The New York Times in Washington, Rattner developed a lifelong interest in economic policy, which drew him to politics and public service. In the mid-1990s, he began to work actively on behalf of Democratic candidates, beginning with President Bill Clinton. While it was rumored that Rattner would join a Democratic administration, he did not do so until after the election of President Barack Obama.

In February 2009, with both General Motors and Chrysler on the brink of insolvency, Rattner was appointed Counselor to the United States Secretary of the Treasury and lead auto adviser. He quickly assembled a team that grew to 14 professionals to address this key element of the national economic crisis.

Reporting to both Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, the head of the National Economic Council, Rattner and his auto task force developed a plan to save both the two manufacturers and related suppliers and finance companies. The plan involved a total government investment of $82 billion in the sector, coupled with controlled bankruptcies for the two auto companies, as well as new management for both.

Rattner later wrote in his book Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Auto Rescue that the toughest decision for President Obama was whether to save Chrysler. There was no disagreement, he later wrote, about asking GM CEO Richard Wagoner to step aside.

By July 2009, both automakers had emerged from bankruptcy, had new management and were on their way to renewed profitability. At that time, Rattner left Washington and returned to private life in New York.

Post-political career

After leaving the government, Rattner wrote his New York Times best selling account of the successful rescue of the auto companies. Slate described his book as "unquestionably the best book so far about the Obama presidency."

He continued to speak out on auto-related matters as well as broader economic issues. Early in 2011, he began contributing a monthly column to the Financial Times on subjects ranging from the Greek crisis to the U.S. budget deficit. He also became the economic analyst for the MSNBC news show, Morning Joe. And in June 2011, he was named a contributing writer to The New York Times Op-Ed page, publishing a first column on how government policies drive up corn prices.

Attorney General investigation

In 2005, Quadrangle made payments to private placement agent Hank Morris to help the firm raise money for its second buyout fund, a common industry practice for private equity and venture capital firms. Morris had come highly recommended to Rattner from U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.

In 2009, Quadrangle and a dozen other investment firms, including the much larger Carlyle Group, were investigated for using Morris as a placement agent because he was also a political consultant to New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Quadrangle's private placement fees were seen as "kickbacks" in order to arrange investments from the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which Hevesi controlled. Despite making money for the Retirement Fund, Quadrangle agreed to pay $7 million in April 2010 to settle the matter. In November, Rattner personally settled with the SEC for $6.2 million (including a $3 million fine) without admitting or denying any wrongdoing. He accepted a two-year ban from associating with broker-dealers or investment advisers in the securities industry to settle the matter.

The case drew significant media attention when Andrew Cuomo, then New York's Attorney General, inexplicably demanded much more severe penalties from Rattner than any other firm or individual implicated in the case. Rattner, who was once a prominent fundraiser for Democratic Party candidates but had never supported Cuomo, spoke out vigorously in his own defense. In an appearance on the Charlie Rose Show, Rattner explained he was willing to settle on reasonable terms, but that Cuomo's demands were "close to extortion." He asserted that hiring of Hank Morris was "completely legal" and questioned whether Cuomo's investigation was motivated by the "facts" of the case.

On December 30, 2010, Rattner reached a settlement to pay $10 million in restitution but no fines or penalties. He was also not prohibited from continuing to protest his innocence. The non-financial terms of the settlement were the most favorable of those received by any of dozens of targets of the investigation.

Personal

Rattner has served as a board member or trustee of a number of public and philanthropic organizations, including the Educational Broadcasting Corporation as chairman, Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City as chairman, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brown University, Brookings Institution and the New American Foundation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Rattner is married to Maureen White, who served for five years as finance chair for the Democratic National Committee and is now the Senior Advisor on Humanitarian Issues to the Special Representative-Afghanistan and Pakistan for the U.S. Department of State. They have four grown children and live in New York.

External links

• StevenRattner.com Official Site
• 4 Top Lazard Freres Bankers Are Quitting to Open Firm. New York Times, March 1, 2000
• Eyeing More Turf. New York Times, February 17, 2006
• Quadrangle's Connections. Business Week, Nov. 1, 2004.
• Rattner Joins Panel to Fix Auto Industry. Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24, 2009.
• Obama Car Guru Steve Rattner. Time, April 20, 2009.
• Summons and Complaint. New York Attorney General, November 18, 2010
• Charlie Rose Interview with Steven Rattner. Charlie Rose Show, Nov. 22, 2010.