The Death of the Banker

A very, very helpful book to understand American and global economic history, through the lens of financial intermediaries, from the late 18th century to present day. Chernow is in some position to write a book about this subject — his excellent biographies of JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, among others allowed him to write this from a position of holistic analysis.

The biggest takeaway here is the widening relationship between finance and government from the American Revolution onward. Because of many factors, most of which centered around lack access to up to date financial information, financial services were almost inextricably linked to the foreign policy of nation states, necessitating a small number of centralized, high society leaders to facilitate transactions. These leaders were more diplomats than numbers men, and their shops were intensely private.

As information access increased, so did the gradual meritocracy of the financial sector, thus increasing the number of viable players in the space, increasing regulation and eroding the exclusive club of power brokers we know as the Warburgs, Morgans, ect. Some evolved, some didn’t, but the result was a permanent and fundamental change in how the world did business. Chernow illustrates this, and more, fascinatingly and with his characteristic humor.