Wall Streeters Face Bitterness—And Shock

Even if you do feel a sense of shame, whom are you going to make amends to? The counter-party already cleaned you out. Do you apologize to your investors or feel angry that their endless demand for greater returns forced you to take bigger risks?

Not everyone out here has lost something in the crash. I know a guy who is crowing because he feels the finance types always made him feel bad about his job as a media executive. You might think of him as one of the never-hads. The boom seemed to pass him by; now he's hoping the bust doesn't take him down, too. Until it does, there's a lingering sense of wonder, not to mention resentment.

The other day I dropped my kid at a friend's house. As my daughter raced inside, I chatted briefly in the driveway with the other father. We both turned to look at the house next door that was being dismantled for an expansion. I raised an eyebrow to see such work in the midst of the economic crisis. Our community has been hit hard—very hard—by the collapse of the banking system and the earthquake still reverberating through the hedge-fund world.

_____________________________________
More From The Big Money:

• A State of Frustration
• The War the Rich are Waging...Against the Rich
• It's Been Such a Pleasure Working With You

_____________________________________

"Math geek," the other father said in reply to my wordless question. "He made a lot of money writing formulas for CDOs and swaps."

"Ah," was all I could muster.

But as he turned and walked into his house the other dad couldn't hold back his own final judgment: "Jerk."

© 2012 Slate.com

---

< Prev | 1 | 2 | 3