Wasserstein
ORG
Wasserstein
Bruce Wasserstein, the enigmatic investment banker who runs Lazard, presented a plan to break up Time Warner, he crossed a line between adviser and co-conspirator. He proclaimed to a crowded ballroom that the plan to break the company into four pieces was his own. Mr. Wasserstein's decision to play such a prominent role in Mr. Icahn's failed fight may have exposed him as Wall Street's Emperor With No Clout. While several executives said they were generally satisfied with the work of Lazard, Mr. Wasserstein's spectacular failure has companies looking at him a little differently. Mr. Wasserstein and Lazard could have had some plausible deniability when the campaign failed to generate any enthusiasm. Mr. Wasserstein was supposed to come in, with his reputation as a master strategist someone who is two steps ahead even when he looks as if he is about to lose.