Celebrity financier reputations predictably collapse when detached from firm fundamentals.

Evidence

One well-known case in the business sphere is that of Gary Wendt. Before Wendt was hired by Conseco to rescue the company’s troubled situation, he worked as the head of GE Capital and was considered not only a skillful and visionary leader but also “the smartest businessman in the country” (Mlodinow 2008, p. x). The appointment of Wendt was then highly applauded by financiers and investors. One quote in the New York Times stated that “we know God can’t come down here and do this, but the next best thing to God is Gary Wendt” (Morgenson 2002). An immediate result of such approval was that Conceco’s stock tripled within a year. However, two years later, Conseco went bankrupt, and its stock value crashed. — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 177

Categorization

• CANDY: The ‘next best thing to God is Gary Wendt’ quote plus the bankruptcy two years later is a great elevator anecdote about financial celebrity.
• XREF: connects to: Bankruptcy and collapsed future expectations erode even established trustworthiness — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 257; Severe financial crises trigger a loss of trust in markets

Broader Connections

• Severe financial crises trigger a loss of trust in markets #expands (0.85)
• Bankruptcy and collapsed future expectations erode even established trustworthiness #expands (0.80) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 257