In 1987, British marketing group WPP swooped in like a horde of Harpies to buy J. Walter. Don Johnston was still chairman and CEO. He’d put on a couple of pounds, thank God. Threatened by WPP’s tiny titan Martin Sorrell—who by purchasing competitors had expanded the company, originally named Wire and Plastic Products, from shopping-basket maker to branding powerhouse—Johnston was concerned about retaining key clients and key personnel. So Thompson offered me three lucrative financial packages to choose from.
I had at the time a very creative financial adviser, Lloyd Zeiderman. Among Zeiderman’s clients were a young Tom Cruise, Superman (aka Christopher Reeve), and country singer Kenny Rogers. Lloyd taught me a secret of successful negotiating that I never forgot.
I sent the three financial packages over to Lloyd’s office and asked for his thoughts and a recommendation. That same afternoon, he told me to pop over and we’d chat and come up with a cool plan to conquer the world. That’s how Lloyd talked. We would “chat,” it would be “cool,” and we would “conquer the world.”
I was definitely curious about which of the three packages Lloyd felt was best for me.
His advice blew me away. “Jim, this is a fuckin’ no-brainer. You take all three packages. If they put it on the table, they’re willing to give it to you. Don’t ever leave anything on the table. We cool?”
So that’s what I did and pretty much what I got from Thompson. And I never forgot that lesson about negotiating. It probably raised WPP’s Martin Sorrell’s blood pressure a couple of notches. I liked that a lot. I always thought of Sir Martin as a somewhat witty accountant, a rather unpleasant, fire-breathing bean counter. I never gave on a single point from that negotiation.
But the shining star of my investment life, the one who has kept me safe and sane, who’s helped me sleep nights, is Tony Peyser.
I remember back in 2008, Tony and I were talking about what a terrible year it had been. We did a whole lot better than most, but the very best thing Tony did was keep Bernie Madoff away from my door. Madoff had come calling, but he wouldn’t explain how he was delivering his attractive dividends year after year. So Tony sent him packing.
He’s also gotten me out of a bad business deal, helped me buy houses and cars, drawn up about a thousand assorted contracts for me.
I still sleep well, and I’m going to sleep well tonight, because of Tony Peyser.