A Banker's Journey

p dir="ltr">“Most readers will know Edmond J. Safra as a towering banker who helped define the modern economic era. Daniel Gross’s vibrant account will make them aware of Safra’s open-handed humanitarian instinct that stood in equal measure to his financial genius—an instinct that continues ‘repairing the world’ to this day. His legacy of a deep and boundless commitment to family, faith and generosity holds timeless lessons for us all, no matter what journey we find ourselves on. Absorbing, highly-recommended reading.”  —Michael J. Fox

“Anyone who knew my treasured friend Edmond Safra was keenly aware that he was a remarkable person: thoughtful, welcoming, intelligent. With this definitive account of his life, a broader audience can marvel at his accomplishments, remember his enduring contributions, and carry forward the lessons of a life lived with purpose and humility.”

—Elton John

“This is an extraordinary book about a remarkable man. Edmond J. Safra may be best known as an immensely successful global financier, but he was a person of many significant qualities: devoted to his family, his faith, and to the deep value of education for individuals from many backgrounds. He gave generously to several universities, and the story of his life is now told in an exceptional way, with fine scholarly detail that makes vivid all the humane aspects of this exceptional human being.”

 —Neil L. Rudenstine, President Emeritus, Harvard University

Préface

• Social media promotion through Author Daniel Gross’s 26k Twitter followers 

• Safra Foundation’s PR consultant and his team will work full-time on the biography publicity campaign.

• Hold events at NIH Campus in Bethesda, home of the Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge. Possibly the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research – and, depending on his health, Michael J. Fox himself – to host an event and/or broadcast the news of the publication of this book.

• Possible book talk/celebration at Edmond J. Safra Synagogues in Manhattan, Deal (NJ), Miami, and in Brooklyn. This will be among the largest Sephardic synagogues in North America (42,000 square feet, with a total capacity of 1,620 worshippers), serving the largest Sephardic community outside Israel.

• Book talk in the Edmond J. Safra Hall at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC (located on Edmond J. Safra Plaza).

• Book talk at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard.

• Event at the Synagogue Edmond J. Safra in Paris’s new European Center for Judaism (the headquarters of the French Jewish community).

• Event at the Synagogue Edmond J. Safra in Monaco.

• In Buenos Aires, event in the Edmond and Lily Safra Auditorium at the main Jewish community school.

• In Jerusalem, an event can be organized at either the Israel Museum (Edmond and Lily Safra Fine Arts Wing) or in the Edmond J. Safra Auditorium at Yad Vashem, in addition to a potential event at the Jerusalem Municipality (located on Safra Square)

• In Tel Aviv,an event can be hosted by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Tel Aviv University (Israel’s largest university) and with studens and faculty invited

• In Haifa, the University (home of the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities) will be proud to host an event.

• Five smaller events are also feasible, selected from the twenty-one Edmond J. Safra Synagogues in Israel with the most likelihood of drawing an English-speaking crowd: Shoham, Ramat Aviv, Ranana, Modiin and Petach Tikva.

Auteur

Daniel Gross is one of the most widely-read writers on finance, economics, and business history. Over the past three decades, he has reported from more than thirty countries, covering everything from the dotcom boom to the global financial crisis and the Great Recession of 2008–2009. 

Gross worked as a reporter at The New Republic and Bloomberg News, wrote the “Economic View” column in The New York Times, and served as Slate’s “Moneybox” columnist. At Newsweek, where he was a columnist and correspondent, he authored seven cover stories. He is a bestselling author of eight books, including Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time; Generations of Corning; Dumb Money: How America’s Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation; and Better, Stronger, Faster: The Myth of American Decline and the Rise of a New Economy.

Gross was educated at Cornell University and holds an M.A. in American history from Harvard University. His great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Aleppo and Damascus.

Texte du rabat

The remarkable life and career of Edmond J. Safra: the most successful banker of the second half of the 20th century; protector of the global Sephardic Jewish community; philanthropist; and collector. From the age of fifteen to a career spanning Europe, and North and South America, across six languages, Safra built a global financial empire while staying true to his family legacy.

Résumé

Who was Edmond J. Safra? “The greatest banker of his generation,” in the estimation of a former World Bank President. The founder of four massive financial institutions on three continents, and a proud child of Beirut’s Jewish quarter. An innovative avatar of financial globalization, and a faithful heir to a tradition of old-world banking. The leading champion and protector of the Sephardic diaspora. 

In A Banker’s Journey, financial journalist and historian Daniel Gross, who, like Safra, traces his heritage to Aleppo, Syria, reconstructs the public life of an intensely private man. With exclusive access to Safra’s personal archives, Gross tracks the banker’s remarkable journey from Beirut to Milan, São Paulo, Geneva, and New York—to the pinnacle of global finance.

Edmond Safra was fifteen in 1947, when his father sent him to establish a presence in Milan, Italy.  Fluent in six languages, and with an eye for value, managing risk, and personal potential, Safra was in perpetual motion until his tragic death in 1999. The modern, global financial empire he built was based on timeless principles: a banker must protect his depositors and avoid excessive leverage and risk. In an age of busts and bailouts, Safra posted remarkable returns while rarely suffering a credit loss.

From a young age, Safra assumed the mantle of leadership in the Syrian-Lebanese Jewish community, providing personal aid, supporting the communities that formed in exile, and championing Sephardic religious and educational efforts in Israel and around the world.  Edmond J. Safra’s life of achievement in the twentieth century offers enduring lessons for those seeking to make their way in the twenty-first century. He inspired generations to make the world a better place.