13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown (57 page)

We owe a deep debt of gratitude to our families. James would like to thank his parents, Nosup Kwak and Inkyung Liu, for so many things, including giving him the interest in public affairs that eventually led to this book; his sister, Mary Kwak, for her encouragement over many years; his wife, Sylvia Brandt, for her constant support and understanding; Ed and Faydine Brandt for their invaluable help over the past several years; and his daughter, Willow, for being the happiest little girl in the world. Simon thanks his parents, Ian and Cedar Johnson, for favoring education above all else; his wife, Mary Kwak, for being the best through thick and thin; and his daughters, Celia and Lucie, for putting everything in its proper perspective and (they now remind him) for giving him the time that made this book possible. We both thank Mary for reading and editing the entire manuscript; no one else could have done what she did.

Table of Contents

Cover

About the Author

Other Books by This Author

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction: 13 Bankers

1 Thomas Jefferson and the Financial Aristocracy

2 Other People’s Oligarchs

3 Wall Street Rising: 1980–

4 “Greed Is Good”: The Takeover

5 The Best Deal Ever

6 Too Big to Fail

7 The American Oligarchy: Six Banks

Epilogue

Notes

Further Reading

Acknowledgments