Word: rubenstein
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Oxford CEO Rubenstein insists that Oxford is "vastly different" from its predecessor, Reynolds Kendrick Stratton, "with new management, new personnel and an entirely different business focus. There is simply no comparison between the two firms." One thing hasn't changed, however: the Kott connection. Several major JB Oxford shareholders have been closely associated with Kott or with stocks pushed through Kott-connected boiler rooms. Felix Oeri, a Swiss financier who is Oxford's biggest stockholder, bought a large block of Hariston stock a few years ago after it was recommended to him by Kott. (Oeri says he's lost money...
...much influence that several former employees told TIME they regarded him as the de facto CEO. There have also been allegations--hotly denied by Oxford--that the firm is engaging in some of the same dubious practices that were employed by other Kott-related brokerages in the past. Stephen Rubenstein, Oxford's chairman and CEO, insists that despite Kott's association with the company, JB Oxford is a clean operation making an honest living in one of the hottest markets in history...
...Kott was the key: he made the decisions," recalls a former employee. When asked whether Kott gave orders to Rubenstein, this source replied, "Definitely." Said another ex-employee: "Kott called the shots. Everyone made suggestions to him, but [I think] his word was the final one. Nothing went on without his knowledge." A former broker said flatly, "It's his place. He runs it, he makes the decisions, he does the hiring and firing...
Early this year, several Oxford branch managers and employees from various parts of the country held at least two meetings at Kott's Beverly Hills mansion. Rubenstein, according to a former employee, was at both meetings, but they were chaired by Kott. A source in the brokerage business says Kott has actually described himself as the "owner" of JB Oxford. When TIME asked Kott about his relationship with JB Oxford, he denied owning any stock and described himself as a consultant...
...Rubenstein likewise rejects the notion that Kott is anything more than a consultant, and he adds that a two-year consulting agreement expired at the end of June and that Kott is now used only on an ad hoc basis. And yet Rubenstein's own comments about Kott make it clear that Kott has played a central role in the company, making him, at the very least, one of the two or three most important people there...