Word: steinberger
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...Steinberg then tried new gambits. In 1968 he bought Reliance Insurance, a company ten times larger than Leasco. In 1969, at the age of 29, he went after a real giant: Chemical Bank, then the seventh largest U.S. bank. In that case, though, Steinberg's reach exceeded his grasp. Says Paul Hallingby, a friend and longtime business associate: "The Chemical caper never had a chance of succeeding. They were an Establishment bank, and they had ways of heading him off." The bank had plenty of old friends and ties and could afford just to ignore the brash young...
During the oil-induced recession of 1974-75, the computer-leasing business went bad, but insurance shielded Steinberg from severe troubles. He changed the name of his company to Reliance Group and in 1982 took it private, in part so that he could make all the decisions on his own and not have to worry about pleasing stockholders. Says he: "If I have a general manager who does extraordinarily well for us and I want to give him a seven-figure bonus, I do it and don't worry about how it's going to look...
...messy second divorce in 1983 put Steinberg all over New York City's tabloids. As part of the action, his wife filed a stockholder's complaint that accused him of taking drugs, diverting corporate funds to personal use and making payoffs to New York City officials to get business for his company. None of the charges, though, were ever proved...
After the divorce, Steinberg slowed down and changed many of his working habits. A few years ago, say friends, he regularly worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week when a deal was being made. But last summer, late on a < Friday and deep into a negotiation, Steinberg announced, "I'm going to the beach...
While he still makes all the final decisions, Steinberg now delegates more. Says a former employee: "As a boss, he is mostly carrot and very little stick. He is very demanding. His goal is to get more out of people than they realize they have to give." Steinberg lives with his third wife, Gayfryd, and two of his six children in a 34-room Park Avenue triplex once owned by John D. Rockefeller...