As we anxiously await the film adaptation of Michael Lewis' seminal Wall Street book, "Liar's Poker," we figured we'd take a few moments to re-familiarize ourselves with the rise and fall of the book's most infamous subject: Salomon Brothers Inc.
A Wall Street fortress for most of the twentieth century, Salomon Brothers fell from grace when it found itself tangled in a chain of scandals in the early 1990s, which led to the firm's emergency takeover by Warren Buffett and eventual integration into Citigroup.
While Salomon's infamously reckless behavior is now a thing of the past, what remains today is a cult-like loyalty to the firm and, of course, a great story.
Salomon Brothers was founded in 1910
By—you guessed it—brothers Arthur, Herbert and Percy Salomon.
The brothers began with $5,000 and some help from their father's (a broker himself) clerk and opened their first money brokerage office on Broadway near Wall Street.
Source: Funding Universe
By the end of WWI, the brothers ruled the market for government bonds
Thanks to the Liberty Loan Act of 1917, the brothers capitalized on the newly-created government bond market.
By the 1930s, the Salomon brothers had set up shop in six cities around the Northeast and Midwestern United States.
Source: Funding Universe
The Great Depression hit hard, but the Salomon name survived
By remaining bearish in the years leading up to the Great Depression, Salomon Brothers was able to weather the market crash of 1929, its largest struggles between family members as to whom should take over the business.
Source: Funding Universe
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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