View source for Company:Lazard

{{Infobox company
| name = Lazard Ltd.
| logo = Lazard wordmark.svg
| logo_size = 250
| type = [[Finance:Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{NYSE|LAZ}} (Class A)<br/>Russell 1000 Component
| founder = Alexandre Lazard<br/>Lazare Lazard<br/>Simon Lazard
| key_people = Kenneth M. Jacobs<br/>{{small|(Chairman and CEO)}}
| industry = [[Finance:Financial services|Financial services]]
| products = [[Finance:Financial services|Financial services]]<br/>[[Finance:Investment banking|Investment banking]]<br/>[[Social:Investment management|Investment management]]
| revenue = {{increase}} {{US$|2.826 billion|link=yes}} {{small|(2018)<ref name=“10-K”>{{cite web|url=https://last10k.com/sec-filings/laz#link_fullReport |title=Lazard Ltd Annual Report (Form 10-K) |date=February 2019 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |website=last10k.com}}</ref>}}
| operating_income = {{decrease}} {{US$|681 million}} {{small|(2018)<ref name=“10-K” />}}
| net_income = {{increase}} {{US$|527  million}} {{small|(2018)<ref name=“10-K” />}}
| assets = {{increase}} {{US$|4.997 billion}} {{small|(2018)<ref name=“10-K” />}}
| equity = {{decrease}} {{US$|917 million}} {{small|(2018)<ref name=“10-K” />}}
| aum = {{decrease}} {{US$|231 billion}} {{small|(2018)<ref name=“10-K” />}}
| num_employees = 2,996 {{small|(December 2018)<ref name=“10-K” />}}
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.lazard.com}}
| foundation = {{start date and age|1848}}<br/>New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
| location = [[Place:Hamilton, Bermuda|Hamilton, Bermuda]]<br/>(incorporation)<br/>30 Rockefeller Plaza<br/>{{wipe|New York City}}, New York, United States<br/>(operational)
}}

'''Lazard''' (formerly known as ''Lazard Frères & Co.'') is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in [[Finance:Investment banking|investment banking]], [[Social:Asset management|asset management]], and other [[Finance:Financial services|financial services]] primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's largest independent investment bank, with principal executive offices in New York City, Paris and London.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Indap |first1=Sujeet |last2=Massoudi |first2=Arash |last3=Fontanella-Khan |first3=James |title=Investment banking: Walking away from Wall Street |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d99d271c-5545-11e5-8642-453585f2cfcd |work=Financial Times |date=September 8, 2015}}</ref>

Lazard was founded in 1848 and operates from 43 cities across 27 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and South America. The firm provides advice on [[Social:Mergers and acquisitions|mergers and acquisitions]], strategic matters, [[Social:Restructuring|restructuring]] and capital structure, capital raising and [[Finance:Corporate finance|corporate finance]], as well as [[Social:Asset management|asset management]] services to corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments and individuals.<ref name=10K>{{cite web |url=https://lazardltd.gcs-web.com/node/18986/html |title=Lazard Ltd Form 10-K - Annual Report |date=February 4, 2019}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:29 - New York - Octobre 2008.jpg|thumb|right|125px|Lazard's largest office is at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, {{wipe|New York City}}, NY]]

===Early years===

On July 12, 1848, three brothers, Alexandre Lazard, Lazare Lazard, and Simon Lazard, founded Lazard Frères & Co. as a [[Finance:Dry goods|dry goods]] merchant store in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1851, Simon and two more brothers, Maurice and Elie, had all moved to {{wipe|San Francisco}}, California, while Alexandre moved to New York. Lazard Frères began to serve miners engaged in the [[Engineering:California Gold Rush|California Gold Rush]], and soon expanded into banking and [[Finance:Foreign exchange market|foreign exchange]].<ref name="Rougemont, Lazard Frères 1939">Guy de Rougemont, Lazard Frères, Banquiers des Deux Mondes (1840-1939), Librairie Arthème Fayard, 2010</ref>

In 1854, Alexandre Lazard moved to [[Place:Paris|Paris]], France, where he opened an office to complement the U.S. business. The firm began advising the French government on gold buying. In 1870, the firm continued to expand its international operations, opening an office in London as well.<ref name="Rougemont, Lazard Frères 1939"/>

===The three houses of Lazard===
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the firm evolved into three “Houses of Lazard” in the United States, France, and England, separately managed but allied. The Lazard partners advised clients on financial matters and built a cross-border network of high-level relationships in business and government. Noted financial advisor George Blumenthal rose to prominence as the head of the U.S. branch of Lazard Frères and was a partner of Lazard Frères in France.<ref name="Rougemont, Lazard Frères 1939"/>

In the economic boom following [[Social:World War II|World War II]], the American operations of Lazard expanded significantly under the leadership of the financier André Meyer. Meyer and Lazard partner Felix Rohatyn have been credited with virtually inventing the modern [[Social:Mergers and acquisitions|mergers and acquisitions]] (M&A) market.<ref name="lazard.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.lazard.com/media/16088/iimag_nov_2011_lazard.pdf|title=Institutional Investor International Edition, November 2011 "The New House of Lazard"|accessdate=July 29, 2013}}</ref>

In 1953, Lazard Investors Ltd began an asset management business in London, which is the origin of today's Lazard Asset Management.<ref name="Lazard website - About Lazard">{{cite web|url=http://www.lazard.com/about-lazard/history|title=Lazard website - About Lazard|accessdate=July 26, 2013}}</ref>

===A unified firm===
In 1977, as the health of Meyer began to deteriorate, the firm came to be controlled by Michel David-Weill. Under his leadership, the three houses of Lazard were formally united in 2000 as Lazard LLC.<ref name="Cohan, The Last Tycoons">William Cohan, ''Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co'', Doubleday, 2007</ref>

In 2002, David-Weill hired Bruce Wasserstein to be CEO. Lazard became a public company, with nearly two-third of its shares owned by current and former employees in 2005. Wasserstein became its first Chairman and CEO. In connection with the [[Finance:Initial public offering|initial public offering]] (IPO), Lazard spun off its broker-dealer business, Lazard Capital Markets.<ref name="lazard.com"/>

Following Wasserstein's sudden death in 2009, Lazard's Board of Directors elected Kenneth M. Jacobs Chairman and CEO.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/lazard-names-jacobs-as-chairman-and-ceo/ | work=The New York Times | title=Lazard Names Kenneth Jacobs as Its New Chief | date=November 17, 2009}}</ref>

==Business overview==

===Financial advisory===
Lazard advises clients on a wide range of strategic and financial issues. These may include advising on the potential acquisition of another company, business or certain assets, or on the sale of certain businesses, assets or an entire company. The firm also advises on alternatives to a sale such as recapitalizations, spin-offs, carve-outs and split-offs. For companies in financial distress, Lazard advises on all aspects of restructuring. The firm has advised on many of the largest restructuring assignments in the wake of the global financial crisis that began in mid-2007.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-13/lazard-names-kurtz-restructuring-chief-to-take-over-from-ridings-savage.html | work=Bloomberg | first=Jeffrey | last=McCracken | title=Lazard Appoints Kurtz Restructuring Chief After Ridings, Savage | date=January 14, 2012}}</ref> Lazard also advises on capital structure and capital raising. Capital structure advice includes reviewing and analyzing structural alternatives and assisting in long-term planning. Capital raising advice includes private and public market financing. Lazard's Sovereign Advisory group advises governments and sovereign entities on policy and financial issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investor.shareholder.com/lazard/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=823374|title=Lazard Reports 2013 fourth quarter earnings|accessdate=March 17, 2014}}</ref>

===Asset management===
Lazard's asset management business provides [[Social:Investment management|investment management]] and financial advisory services to institutional clients, financial intermediaries, private clients, and investment vehicles around the world. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutional (corporations, labor unions, public pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and banks; and through sub-advisory relationships, mutual fund sponsors, [[Finance:Broker-dealer|broker-dealer]]s and registered advisors) and individual clients (principally [[Finance:Family office|family office]]s and high-net-worth individuals).<ref name=10K></ref>

==Office locations==
The bank operates from 43 cities across 27 countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lazard.com/locations/|title=Lazard global offices|publisher=Lazard|accessdate=March 29, 2018}}</ref>

Lazard's New York City headquarters spans the top floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://observer.com/2011/03/lazard-takes-more-of-30-rock/|title=Lazard Takes More of 30 Rock|author=|date=15 March 2011|website=observer.com}}</ref> including what used to be Room 5600, the former offices of the [[Biography:Rockefeller family|Rockefeller family]] dynasty.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2014/11/rockefeller-family-leaving-30-rockefeller-center|title=Rockefeller Family Leaving 30 Rockefeller Center for the First Time|first=Kia|last=Makarechi|date=|website=The Hive}}</ref>

{{Col-begin|width=95%}}
{{Col-1-of-4}}
{{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Place:Amsterdam|Amsterdam]]<br />
{{flagicon|China}} [[Place:Beijing|Beijing]]<br />
{{flagicon|Belgium}} Brussels<br />
{{flagicon|Colombia}} Bogota<br />
{{flagicon|France}} [[Earth:Bordeaux|Bordeaux]]<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} Boston<br />
{{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Place:Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]]<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} Charlotte<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|Chicago}}<br />
{{flagicon|UAE}} Dubai<br />
{{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Place:Dublin|Dublin]]<br />
{{Col-2-of-4}}
{{flagicon|Germany}} Frankfurt<br />
{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Place:Hamburg|Hamburg]]<br />
{{flagicon|Hong Kong}} [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} Houston<br />
{{flagicon|Peru}} [[Place:Lima|Lima]]<br />
{{flagicon|UK}} [[Place:London|London]]<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|Los Angeles}}<br />
{{flagicon|France}} Lyon<br />
{{flagicon|Bahrain}} [[Place:Manama|Manama]]<br />
{{flagicon|Spain}} [[Place:Madrid|Madrid]]<br />
{{Col-3-of-4}}
{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Place:Melbourne|Melbourne]]<br />
{{flagicon|Mexico}} México City<br />
{{flagicon|Italy}} Milan<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} Minneapolis<br />
{{flagicon|Canada}} {{wipe|Montreal}}<br />
{{flagicon|India}} {{wipe|Mumbai}}<br />
{{flagicon|France}} Nantes<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|New York City}}<br />
{{flagicon|Panama}} [[Place:Panama City|Panama City]]<br />
{{flagicon|France}} [[Place:Paris|Paris]]<br />
{{flagicon|Australia}} Perth<br />
{{Col-4-of-4}}
{{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[Place:Riyadh|Riyadh]]<br />
{{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|San Francisco}}<br />
{{flagicon|Brazil}} São Paulo<br />
{{flagicon|Chile}} Santiago<br />
{{flagicon|South Korea}} [[Place:Seoul|Seoul]]<br />
{{flagicon|Singapore}} [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]]<br />
{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Place:Stockholm|Stockholm]]<br />
{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Place:Sydney|Sydney]]<br />
{{flagicon|Japan}} [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]]<br />
{{flagicon|Canada}} Toronto<br />
{{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Place:Zürich|Zürich]]<br />
{{Col-end}}

==Management==

===Past chairmen===

*Alexandre Lazard, Lazare Lazard and Simon Lazard (founders)
*Alexandre Weill
*David David-Weill
*Pierre David-Weill
*André Meyer
*Michel David-Weill
*Ken Costa
*Bruce Wasserstein

===Board of directors===
Lazard's board of directors as of April 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lazard Leadership|url=https://www.lazard.com/our-firm/leadership/|website=Lazard|accessdate=29 March 2018}}</ref>
* Kenneth M. Jacobs
* Andrew Alper
* Ashish Bhutani
* Richard N. Haass
* Steven J. Heyer
* Michelle Jarrard
* Sylvia Jay
* Iris Knobloch
* Philip Laskawy
* Jane Mendillo
* Richard Parsons

==Notable current and former employees==

===Business===
{{columns-list|colwidth=40em|
*Marcus Agius - Chairman of [[Company:Barclays|Barclays]]
*Robert Agostinelli - Founder and Chairman of Rhône Group
*Tim Collins - Founder and CEO of Ripplewood Holdings
*Disque Deane - Chairman of [[Social:Starrett City Associates|Starrett City Associates]]
*Mina Gerowin - First woman banker hired by Lazard; later Managing Director Paulson Europe, LLC
*Sir Philip Hampton - Chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, Former Chairman of Sainsbury's and UK Financial Investments Limited
*Hugh Kindersley, 2nd Baron Kindersley - Chairman of Lazard Brothers (London), 1953–1964
*Sebastian Kulczyk - son of Jan Kulczyk, Board member of Kulczyk Investments
*Steven Langman - Founder & Chairman of Rhône Group
*Jean-Marie Messier - Chairman & CEO of [[Company:Vivendi|Vivendi]] (1996–2002)
*Andre Meyer - Famed American investment banker, advisor to Kennedy family, President Lyndon Johnson
*Archie Norman - Chairman ITV, Former Chairman & CEO of Asda
*Nelson Obus - Co-founder of Wynnefield Capital
*Gary Parr - American investment banker, Former Head of M&A at Morgan Stanley
*Mark Pincus - Internet entrepreneur, Co-founder of [[Company:Zynga|Zynga]]
*Steven Rattner - Venture capitalist, Co-Founder of Quadrangle Group
*Gerald Rosenfeld - Former CEO Rothschild North America, Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern
*Nathaniel Rothschild - Co-Chairman of Atticus Capital LLC
*Bernard Selz American fund manager and philanthropist
*Bruce Wasserstein - American investment banker, Co-Founder of Wasserstein Perella
*Johann Rupert - South African businessman, CEO of Compagnie Financiere Richemont
*Lars Kroijer - M & A Analyst.
}}
===Politics and public service===
{{columns-list|colwidth=40em|
*Jaime Bermúdez Merizalde - Former Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs
*Ron Bloom - Senior official in the Obama Administration
*Robert Henry Brand, 1st Baron Brand - a member of "Milner's Kindergarten"
*Robert Fred Ellsworth - Former U.S. Congressman, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Nixon adviser
*Vernon E. Jordan Jr. - Clinton adviser, Life member of the Council of Foreign Relations
*Paul Keating - Former Prime Minister of Australia
*Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley - British public servant
*Anne Lauvergeon - Former diplomatic council to French President François Mitterrand, CEO [[Company:Areva|Areva]]
*Lord Mandelson - British politician, held Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown
*Henrique de Campos Meirelles - Former president Banco Central do Brasil
*Andrew Mitchell - British Member of Parliament, former Secretary of State for International Development
*Peter R. Orszag - Former OMB Director, former CBO Director
*Vincent S. Pérez - Philippine Secretary of Energy
*Rodrigo de Rato - Former Spanish Economy Minister, Head of [[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]]
*Felix Rohatyn - U.S. Ambassador to France (1997–2000); board member, New York Stock Exchange (1968–1972)
*Jenny Sanford - Former First Lady of South Carolina
*Simon Sebag Montefiore - British historian and writer
*Lindsay Tanner - Former Australian Minister for Finance and Deregulation
*Andrés Velasco - Former Finance Minister of {{wipe|Chile}}
*Antonio Weiss - Counselor to the Secretary of the US Treasury
*Bill White - Former mayor of Houston (3 terms) and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy under President Bill Clinton
*Frank G. Zarb - FEA energy czar under President Gerald Ford, former chairman and CEO, [[Company:NASDAQ|NASDAQ]], then Smith Barney
*Božidar Đelić - Former Minister of Finance of Serbia
*Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala -" Senior Advisor", former Minister of Finance, Nigeria, former Vice-President, Corporate Secretary of the World Bank Group.
}}

===Other===
*William D. Cohan - Contributing editor at Fortune, Award-winning author

==Books==
*{{cite book|author=de Rougemont, Guy D.|title=Lazard Frères: Banquiers des Deux Mondes (1840-1939)|publisher=Fayard|location=Paris|year=2010|isbn=978-2-213-66125-4}}
*{{cite book|author=Cohan, William D.|title=[[Finance:The Last Tycoons|The Last Tycoons]]: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.|publisher=Doubleday|location=New York|year=2007|isbn=0-385-51451-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Geisst|first=Charles R|title=The Last Partnerships: Inside the Great Wall Street Money Dynasties|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|year=2001|isbn=0-07-136999-6|url=https://archive.org/details/lastpartnerships00geis}}
*{{cite book|last=Reich|first=Cary|title=Financier: The Biography of André Meyer: A Story of Money, Power, and the Reshaping of American Business|publisher=William Morrow & Co.|location=New York|year=1983|isbn=0-688-01551-4|url=https://archive.org/details/financierbiograp00reic}}

==See also==
* Solomon Lazard, who some claim founded Lazard Frères

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.lazard.com Lazard Homepage]
*[http://www.lazardnet.com Lazard Asset Management]

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