Journalist, entrepreneur, and editor-at-large of The Daily Beast, Randall Lane, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about his fascinating and entertaining book The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane.
Randall Lane captures the spirit of the Zeroes decade through the eyes of a struggling publisher of magazines devoted to chronicling the leading denizens of Wall Street.
Thanks to Randall Lane for his time and for his interesting and informative responses. They are greatly appreciated.
What was the background to writing this book The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane?
I am trained as writer and a journalist, but spent the decade as an entrepreneur, right in the center of the insanity. After the economy melted down, taking my company and life savings with it, I was telling some stories to my mom, and she's like, "wow, what a book that would make." The material is pretty amazing, and I have enough writing chops not to blow it.
How did a small magazine publisher like yourself become the go to person for Wall Street traders earning millions in commissions and bonuses?
Randall Lane: In terms of the outside world, because we were an accessible way into this foreign culture. They all wanted a way to tap into Wall Street's riches, and we became the conduit. And for Wall Street's hitters, it worked the other way -- we could provide mainstream fame and glory. It was a two-way bridge, and we were the gatekeepers.
You evoke a deep set of different meanings with the term zeroes. What are a few of those metaphors that the zeroes bring to mind?
Randall Lane: First, only once-a-millennium do you get a decade with two zeroes perched in the middle. I spent most of it tallying the zeroes at the end of the largest paychecks in human history. Yet by the end of the decade, there had been zero income growth, zero stock market appreciation, zero boost in net worth. And the people that I'd dealt with were largely a bunch of collective zeroes. There's still no widespread moniker for the decade -- this one seems to fit pretty well.
To me, the entire non-stop party atmosphere described in the book, as both slightly surreal and deadly serious, is itself a metaphor for the Zeroes decade. Is that idea one you were seeking to convey?
Randall Lane: Not consciously, that's just how it played out. But looking back, it was indeed was the kind of party that you knew was going to cause a massive hangover, yet we just kept drinking, as if the the more we imbibed, the more we could push away the dawn.
Randall Lane (photo left)
The boxing match that opens the book, takes place just as the Dow Jones Industrial Average passes 14000. That was the night that you describe as Wall Street celebrating. Interestingly enough, that night when the match took place was almost a microcosm of what was to happen in the future. Was that scene being placed up front in the book intentional?
Randall Lane: Yes, we had the absolute apex event as the absolute apex moment of the decade. If nights could be captured, and placed in the Smithsonian, that would be a fine one. People 30 years could look at it, between Lincoln 's stovepipe hat and Archie Bunker's chair, and just shake their heads.
While you were so close to the Wall Street action, were there some tragically ignored indications that the Crash was imminent?
Randall Lane: The subprime defaults that began in 2007 were an obvious clue, but the large majority chose to either ignore then or ,more likely, assume this financial machine we all played a part in would power right through. The few wise enough to see the problem, famously, made staggering fortunes.
You describe the Wall Street traders as reveling in gambling and in boxing. Were these high risk past times indicative of the thinking and mindset of the traders?
Randall Lane: Most of us equate money and time. Work two weeks, get a paycheck. To traders, money is earned through brief bursts of action. Luck and ideas, rather than persistence and patience. A trader has far, far more in common with a gambler than a teacher or lawyer.
Do you miss the Zeroes decade, or is it something whose time has passed?
Randall Lane: Not in the least. But it's imperative that we learn from our mistakes, and I fear greatly that we haven't.
What is next for Randall Lane?
Randall Lane: Very happy writing books and helping The Daily Beast become a powerhouse. But there's another start-up in me at some point. Can't help it -- born that way.
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My book review of The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane by Randall Lane.
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