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| Edward "Eddie" Lampert | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | July 27, 1962 Roslyn, New York |
| Occupation | Hedge Fund Manager |
| Net worth | ▼ $2.0 Billion USD (2009)[1] |
Edward S. "Eddie" Lampert (born July 27 1962)[2] is an American investor, financier and businessman. He is the chairman of Sears Holdings Corporation(SHLD) and founder, chairman, and CEO of ESL Investments. Until May, 2007 he was a director of AutoNation, Inc.[3] He previously served as a director of AutoZone, Inc. from July 1999 to October 2006.[4]
Life and career
Lampert graduated from Yale University in 1984 (B.A., economics, summa cum laude), where he was a member of Skull and Bones[5][6] and Phi Beta Kappa. He was an intern at Goldman Sachs in July 1984, and worked in the firm's risk arbitrage department from March 1985 to February 1988. He worked directly with Robert Rubin; when Lampert decided to go out on his own, Rubin warned it was a bad career decision.
He left the bank to form ESL Investments, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, in April 1988. The name ESL derives from Lampert's initials. Richard Rainwater, whom he had met on Nantucket Island, gave him $28 million in seed money and introduced him to clients, such as David Geffen. In 2003, he was kidnapped from the parking lot of his office, but Lampert convinced his captors to let him go after two days.[5]
Lampert's investment style can best be described as "concentrated value", often focusing on the retail sector. Lampert typically holds his investments for several years and usually has between three and fifteen stocks. His investment style has drawn comparisons to the financier Warren Buffett. He has, in large part, been credited for forming and merging Kmart and Sears into Sears Holdings.
His earnings in 2004 were estimated to be $1.02 billion USD; making Lampert the first Wall Street financial manager to exceed an income of $1 billion in a single year.[7] In 2006, Lampert was the richest person in Connecticut with a net worth of $3.8 billion.[8]
His earnings in 2006 were estimated to be from $1.0 billion to $1.5 billion USD.
As of March 3, 2009 most of those earnings have been reversed. The compensation received during the years 2004-2006 was in the form of carried interest which was subsequently reinvested in the ESL Fund at mostly peak values. When adjusting the current valuation of the ESL Fund Lampert's net worth is roughly $1.5 billion USD.
References
- ^ "The World's Billionaires". Forbes. 2009-03-11. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Edward-Lampert_22YS.html. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ Berner, Robert (2004-11-22). "The Next Warren Buffett?" (PDF). BusinessWeek: pp. 144-148;152,154. http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/documents/areas/adm/loeb/05d42.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
- ^ Miller, James P. (2007-03-26). "Sears chief won’t run for AutoNation’s board". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070326lampert,1,2751267.story. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ "SEC filing". AutoZone, Inc. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/866787/000089375006000283/sch13d.txt. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ a b Berner, Robert (2004-11-22). "The Next Warren Buffett?". BusinessWeek.com. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_47/b3909001_mz001.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
- ^ Alexandra Robbins, Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power, Little, Brown and Company, 2002, page 180
- ^ Martin, Patrick (2005-06-09). "Highest Wall Street pay tops $1 billion a year". http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jun2005/hedg-j09.shtml. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
- ^ "The 400 Richest Americans (Connecticut Rankings)". Forbes.com. 2006-09-21. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_The-400-Richest-Americans-Connecticut_7Rank.html.
External links
- SHC: Chairman's Messages to Shareholders (Previous years)
- Forbes: The World's Billionaires editors:Luisa Kroll and Allison Fass (March 8, 2007)
- Edward S. Lampert of ESL Investments explains his thinking on the Kmart deal
- gurufocus.com: Edward Lampert News
- Cramer, James J., Blue-Light Specialist: A conversation with Eddie Lampert, New York magazine (December 6, 2004)
- Rosenberg, Yuval, The man behind the deal, CNNMoney.com (November 17, 2004)
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