Vendetta: American Express and the Smearing of Edmond Safra [Hardcover]

Bryan Burrough (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0788199854 | ISBN-13: 978-0788199851 | Publication Date: December 1992

The author of Barbarians at the Gate uncovers the secret operation involving spies, private eyes, double agents, and dragon ladies that American Express put into motion in order to harm one reclusive billionaire. 250,000 first printing. $250,000 ad/promo. Tour.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When the 1983 merger between the American Express Bank and Edmond Safra's Trade and Development Bank failed, Safra reestablished himself with an independent banking concern that would compete directly with American Express. Burrough, coauthor of Barbarians at the Gate ( LJ 1/90), tells of an ill-founded and vindictive attempt by individuals hired by American Express to discredit Safra in the media. Though the incident was mentioned in Jon Friedman's House of Cards (Putnam, 1992), Burrough's insight into the culture clash between the parties gives fascinating dimension to a story that spans almost a decade and involves unsavory players in the affairs of a multinational corporation. For both lay readers and specialists.
- Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Diane Pub Co (December 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0788199854
• ISBN-13: 978-0788199851
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #655,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bryan Burrough is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the author of three previous books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Banking Gets Personal, May 7, 2000

By 

"oxzo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vendetta: American Express and the Smearing of Edmond Safra (Hardcover)

I am a fan of the authors writing in general. If you're a person who enjoys reading stories in the Wall Street Journal etc then this book may very well be for you (the author works at WSJ).

This is a fascinating story of international intrigue and business. The author provides historical background for both AmEx and Mr Saffra and then proceeds into the meat of the story.

What's interesting here is that the Vendetta alluded to in the title raises some serious ethical questions on the part of some folks. All I'll say is as you read it do a name search on the web and see where some of them are today, it's not the poor house and it's not jail either.

The book exposes high finance, high power, bare knuckled business street fighting taken to an internation stage.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boys Will Be Boys, April 15, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vendetta: American Express and the Smearing of Edmond Safra (Hardcover)

What happens when business people start to act like 5 year olds at the playground - I'm taking my ball and going home. This is a great story about the desire of American Express to move into the world of private banking and the bank they tried to by - Republic Bank run by Mr. Saffra. Not only does the book provide us this weird story but also it gives the reader a great back ground on these two companies - the American Express information was very interesting. The story of the two companies coming together and then having a lovers spat is just darn interesting and a little tabloid TV. The book keeps your interest and is a nice little find if you pick it up.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stranger than fiction...again, August 23, 2009

By 

Jonathan Warren (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vendetta: American Express and the Smearing of Edmond Safra (Paperback)

Vendetta may be this Author's best work, if not his best known. The twists and turns are so sharp that those accustomed to novels may be nauseous before they get half way through.

Events chronicled here are the genesis of many a conspiracy theory. I am reminded of the response from a notorious mafioso when I asked about 'organized crime'. "Don't fool yourself." He said, "It isn't that organized."

Burrough goes to exhaustive lengths to bring the story to the page. The wild ride and incredible characters bounce from continent to continent, villa to yacht to back alley. The key individuals form a perfect personality storm for disaster, and disaster they produced.

Saddest of all is Safra himself. Titan private banker to the stars, Safra's Achilles Heel was unwittingly pierced by Amex chief Jim Robinson with a petty smear attempt. Frantically seeking counter attack, Safra lashes out. This brings delight to the parasites teaming around Robinson's sleezy endeavor, who proceed to fan the fire and feed on the turmoil.

Despite his genius, ability and drive, Safra's public life climaxed in a pathetic slap fight. Years later the He did not do well in that trip through the gutter, and his legacy may forever have deviated from its career-long steady course.

Years after this book, Safra's life ended in a bizarre murder-robbery at the hands of his male nurse, in his villa in Monte Carlo. It was truly heartbreaking end which should have been a beautiful crescendo.

Susan Cantor is an intriguing character, the product of conspiracy delusion and self-aggrandizement. Her work was well described in the book by (my cousin) her then-colleague Richard O'Regan, "She wasn't a journalist. She played at it."

But most interesting of all is the individual named Tony Greco. A true chameleon, Greco masters the energy between the opposing parties, and plays it to his advantage at every turn. While the titans battle, he steals millions form them. While Cantor conspires for her own silly career, he uses her every move to his advantage. After all is said and done, only Greco comes out ahead.

Multilingual (to the point of being able to assume specific accents in several tongues), so international no on knows his home, Greco owns the game. Powerful chess pieces have no idea that he plays both sides. Tony Greco, or someone with his name and persona, shows up several times in opportunistic, criminal circumstances all over the world in the past few decades. But the actual individual was so adept at identity theft, or causing others to take his identity, it would be virtually impossible to find the actual individual now. Were he to show up, that's a biography I'd buy. Were I to meet him, it's one I'd write.

Burrough takes on a well-researched ride in a stranger-than-fiction odyssey. Tough to put down, the book shocks with its exposure of the silly emotional folly of banking giants. Lacking somewhat only in its written structure, this is a great piece of work.