Part of what got Black tenure at the University of Chicago and what got him a position as a partner at Goldman Sachs was his enjoyment of finding ways to take advantage of tax code. He wrote memos to his students and to his coworkers at Goldman about situations in which a non-tax-exempt and a tax-exempt investor could work together to ensure a mutual profit. At Goldman, he found a way in which Goldman could charge a fee for bringing the two parties together.
In addition to his professional success, Black now had himself a lady. He married Cathy Tawes, who had recently divorced from another partner at Goldman. Unfortunately, the book (in this section at least) does not go into details about the awkward scene at the meeting where the guy that Tawes just left and Fischer Black got into a fight over Cathy. Certainly a missed opportunity there.
Missed opportunities for literary gold notwithstanding, Fischer and Cathy were happy together. Unlike with his previous wife Mimi, their personalities fit just right so that he could continue to be a workaholic, and she wouldn't mind. She already had kids of her own, so all Fischer had to do was fit into the family.
A for Bubba. What other grade could I assign when you link to ... ruminants.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that this guy is world-class for decades, and he can't get anyone to accept him for who he is. You really have to wonder what sort of jerks humans actually are.