Testosterone Inc Tales of CEOs Gone Wild

by Byron, Christopher M.

• ISBN13: 9780471706236
• ISBN10: 047170623X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-08
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

In Testosterone Inc.: Tales of CEOs Gone Wild, bestselling author and New York Post columnist Chris Byron chronicles the Gatsby-like saga of the rise and fall of the celebrity CEO. During the height of the 1990s bull market, they were America' s new heroes: the heroes of business. They were our bold new leaders, cutting the fat, pushing for productivity, implementing visionary plans, and making strategic deals. When the bull market turned to bust and the applause turned to cat-calls, the world was shocked at the truth. Drenched in money and public acclaim, our CEO-heroes mostly white, mostly male, mostly middle-aged turned out to be not much different than a group of twenty-something rock stars drunk on power and driven by sex, greed, and glamour. Testosterone Inc. goes behind the boardroom doors to show the serial affairs and marriages of these acquisitive corporate titans. At the center of this story is Jack Welch, the biggest of America' s rockstar CEOs and th former head of General Electric Co., surrounded by " mini-me" CEOs Ron Perelman of Revlon, Al Dunlap of Sunbeam, and Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco all gone wild in public displays of consumption and predatory appetites writ large. Byron gets inside the bars where Welch liked to hang out and pick up women with his early " business soul mate" buddies. Byron hovers unseen at the elbow of Ron Perelman and his mistress aboard the

Author Biography

CHRISTOPHER M. BYRON has been writing about business and finance for over thirty years. He is author of the international and New York Times bestseller, Martha Inc., writes a weekly business column for the New York Post, and is host of a syndicated daily radio show, Wall Street Wake Up with Chris Byron. He is an analyst on Good Morning America, and appears frequently on CNBC, FOX News Network, MSNBC, and CBS Evening News, among other venues. His articles have appeared in Esquire, Playboy, New York, Worth, Men's Health, and Travel Holiday magazines. Byron graduated from Yale College and the Columbia University School of Law. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and lives in Connecticut with his family.

Table of Contents

ACNNOWLEDGMENTS	vii
PROLOGUE	ix
1 "IS THAT A GUN IN YOUR POCKET, OR ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE ME?"	1	(16)
2 "I WANT TO PLAY IN THE BAND!"	17	(18)
3 A COURSE FOR NEW PROVIDENCE, OR THE DROWNING POOLS OF NARCISSISM?	35	(8)
4 GE LOVES ME!	43	(24)
5 AL AND DENNIS IN THE PASSING LANE	67	(18)
6 FOOLISH FAITH AND THE CASE OF SUZIE CREAM CHEESE	85	(12)
7 QUESTION FROM THE CHAIRMAN: HOW MUCH DO I WEIGH?	97	(20)
8 STRETCH ROLE TIME FOR GARY AND THE PREACHERS DAUGHTER	117	(16)
9 FITZY COMES OUT OF THE CLOSET	133	(12)
10 CHAMPAGNE KISSES AND CAVIAR DREAMS	145	(12)
11 JACK MEETS CELEBRITY'S DARK SIDE	157	(16)
12 THE SHIKSA GODDESS OF WALL STREET	173	(28)
13 JANE BEASLEY AND THE SPOOR OF AN OLDER MAN	201	(14)
14 MARVIN HAMLISCH MEETS THE WORLD OF SIX SIGMA	215	(16)
15 CEO IN BANJO-LAND	231	(18)
16 BIG AL GOES AWOL	249	(16)
17 RON'S NEXT DEMOCRAT	265	(16)
18 HUGS AND KISSES AND BOUTS OF NOSTALGIA	281	(14)
19 BIG AL AND RON EXIT FIGHTING	295	(10)
20 LIFE IS A CABARET	305	(16)
21 LETS PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999	321	(12)
22 THAT PESKY NECK WADDLE	333	(16)
23 SUZY HOTSTUFF AND THE CASE OF JUAN DANGEROSO	349	(10)
24 SONATA FOR SOUL MATES	359	(18)
NOTES	377	(16)
INDEX	393