Wednesday, December 31, 2008

How Bailout Money Is Spent In NYC

The greed of major players on Wall Street is never ending. Peter Kraus spent a whopping three months at the now defunct Merrill Lynch. His bonus for being there? $25 million. Yes, that's right, though the number doesn't even cause my jaw to drop anymore, just a little lump in my soul. So what, praytell happened with all that money? Well, it got spent right here in Manhattan.

From The Real Deal:


Investment advisor Carl Spielvogel and his wife Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel sold their cooperative apartment at 720 Park Avenue, at the corner of 70th Street, for $36.63 million, nearly twice what they paid for it two years ago.

The sale of the seventh-floor unit closed December 18, according to property records posted Friday.

The buyer was identified as Jill Kraus, wife of Peter Kraus, a former executive vice president at Merrill Lynch who reportedly received a $25 million bonus after working at the firm for three months this year. However, only her name was listed on the property report. He was hired as chairman and CEO of AllianceBernstein on December 19. A Merrill Lynch spokeswoman would not comment on his pay package.
Nothing like buying a $37 million dollar Park Ave. apartment before starting another job. Maybe if he leaves before April he can get another $10 million and buy a nice pied-a-terré on Central Park West or something.

There's a line from the documentary "Corporation" that fits best here. That the ex-carpet corporation guy said one day all people like this will go to jail. The example of Peter Kraus is certainly applicable here.