André Meyer

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For the French field hockey player, see André Meyer (field hockey).
André Meyer
Investment banker
Spouse
Bella Lehman
​
(m. 1922⁠–⁠1979)​
(his death)
ChildrenPhilippe Meyer
Francine Meyer Schuhl

André Benoît Mathieu Meyer (September 3, 1898 – September 9, 1979) was a

investment banker
.

Biography

Meyer was born to a low-income

Jewish family in Paris.[1] As a boy, he began following the workings of the stock market and out of necessity left school at age sixteen to work as a messenger at the Paris Bourse. Ambitious, he used his time to study the intricacies of stock trading and because of personnel shortages created by so many young French men serving in the military in World War I, he was able to get a job with Baur & Fils, a small Paris bank. By 1925, his performance with the bank got him noticed by Raymond Philippe, who arranged for him to get an offer from the prestigious investment bankers Lazard Frères
. Within a few years Meyer was made a partner, succeeding to Raymond Philippe.

At Lazard, André Meyer organized SOVAC (Societé pour la Vente à Crédit d'Automobiles), a finance company that in the late twenties introduced the concept of automobile financing for consumers. It made Lazard Frères a significant force in consumer credit as well as in product leasing. As well, from 1927, representing Lazard along with Paul Frantzen and Raymond Philippe, André Meyer was elected to Board of Directors of the failing automobile giant

Legion of Honor
.

Married with two children, Meyer, who was Jewish, and his family were forced to flee France following the Nazi occupation during World War II. He came to Lazard Frères' New York City office with Chairman Pierre David-Weill (1900–1975) and following the Allied Forces liberation in 1944 David-Weill returned to France and Meyer was appointed head of the American operations, a position he would occupy for the rest of his life.

André Meyer, called "the most creative financial genius of our time in the investment banking world" by

International Telephone & Telegraph Company
(ITT) who grew to become the ninth largest industrial corporation in the United States.

Although he personally was publicity-shy, André Meyer was an advisor to the

Lyndon Johnson, consulting at the Oval Office
several times a year during Johnson's tenure.

An avid collector of art objects, Meyer's eclectic assemblages included paintings by

Orlande de Lassus, Claudio Monteverdi, Jacques Arcadelt, Cristóbal de Morales, Luca Marenzio, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Marco da Gagliano, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Jacopo Peri & Ottavio Rinuccini, and Antonio Cesti, among others.[2]

André Meyer maintained a vacation home in

Montparnasse Quarter
of Paris, France.

Legacy

Felix Rohatyn credits Meyer as his mentor. Rohatyn asserts that Meyer's guidance and advice made success at Lazard possible.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ Jewish Telegraph Agency: "Andre Meyer, Jewish Banker, Gives $2,500,000 to New York University" October 29, 1965
  2. ^ Sotheby's, London, De la collection musicale André Meyer: Manuscrits, Imprimés et Oeuvres d'Art, Paris 16 & 17 Octobre 2012, 11.
  3. ^ "Andre Meyer, N.Y. Investment Banker, Philanthropist, Dies". The Washington Post. September 11, 1979.
  4. Charlie Rose Show, Conversation with Felix Rohatyn Archived April 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
    , January 4, 2000.

References
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