Robert Rubin
Encyclopedia
Robert Edward Rubin served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury
during both the first and second Clinton
administrations. Before his government service, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs
eventually serving as a member of the Board, and Co-Chairman from 1990-1992. His most prominent post-government role was as Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup
, where he performed ongoing advisory and representational roles for the firm. From November to December 2007, he served temporarily as Chairman of Citigroup and resigned from the company on January 9, 2009. He received more than $126 million in cash and stock during his tenure at Citigroup.
He is currently engaged actively as a founder of The Hamilton Project, an economic policy think tank which produces research and proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans. He is Co-Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations
and sits on the board of the Harvard Corporation, Harvard University’s executive board. Mr. Rubin is chairman of the board of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the nation’s leading community development support organization, and he serves on the Board of Trustees of Mount Sinai-NYU Health. He also serves as Counselor at Centerview Partners
, an investment banking advisory firm based in New York City.
, Rubin moved to Miami Beach, Florida
, at an early age and graduated from Miami Beach High School
. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 35, sponsored by the American Legion, and received the rank of Eagle Scout. In 1960, Rubin graduated with an A.B.
summa cum laude in economics
from Harvard College
. He then attended Harvard Law School
for three days before leaving to see the world. He later attended the London School of Economics
after graduation and received an LL.B.
from Yale Law School
in 1964.
Rubin began his career as an attorney at the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York City. He joined Goldman Sachs
in 1966 as an associate in the risk arbitrage
department. Rubin proved his skills at the intricate art of investing his firm's capital in high-reward arbitrage
opportunities and became a general partner in 1971. He joined the management committee in 1980 along with fellow Democrat Jon Corzine
, later a U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey
. Rubin was Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer from 1987 to 1990. From the end of 1990 to 1992, Rubin served as Co-Chairman and Co-Senior Partner along with Stephen Friedman
.
Rubin has been awarded honorary degrees from several prestigious universities, including Harvard University
, Yale University
, Columbia University
, University of Pennsylvania
, New York University
and the University of Miami
.
created after winning the presidency.
The National Economic Council, or NEC, enabled the White House to coordinate closely the workings of the Cabinet departments and agencies on policies ranging from budget and tax to international trade and alleviating poverty. The NEC coordinated policy recommendations going into the President’s office, and monitored implementation of the decisions that came out.
Robert Strauss, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, credited Rubin with making the system work. "He's surely the only man or woman in America that I know who could make the NEC succeed," Strauss said in 1994. "Anyone else would have been a disruptive force, and the council wouldn't have worked."
(NAFTA) and immediately after Rubin was sworn in as Secretary of Treasury, Mexico was suffering through a financial crisis
that threatened to result in it defaulting
on its foreign obligations. President Bill Clinton
, with the advice of Secretary Rubin and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan
, provided $20 billion in US loan guarantees to the Mexican government through the Exchange Stabilization Fund
(ESF).
In 1997 and 1998, Treasury Secretary Rubin, Deputy Secretary Lawrence Summers
, and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan
worked with the International Monetary Fund
and others to effectively combat and contain financial crises in Russian, Asian, and Latin American financial markets. In its February 15, 1999, edition, Time Magazine dubbed the three policymakers "The Committee to Save the World."
Mr. Rubin was succeeded on July 1, 1999, as Treasury Secretary by his deputy, Lawrence H. Summers.
"During his tenure as Treasury Secretary", Senator Chuck Hagel
(R-NE) said, "Bob was an ideal public servant who put policy before politics."
In 1997, Rubin and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan
strongly opposed giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
oversight of over-the-counter credit derivatives
when this was proposed by Brooksley Born
, the head of the CFTC. Rubin's role was highlighted in a Public Broadcasting Service
Frontline report, "The Warning". Over-the-counter credit derivatives were eventually excluded from regulation by the CFTC by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000
. According to the Frontline documentary, they played a key role in the 2008 financial crisis.
Arthur Levitt Jr., a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has said in explaining Rubin's strong opposition to the regulations proposed by Born that Greenspan and Rubin were "...joined at the hip on this. They were certainly very fiercely opposed to this and persuaded me that this would cause chaos." However, in Rubin’s autobiography, he notes that he believed derivatives could pose significant problems and that many people who used derivatives did not fully understand the risks they were taking.
Rubin and his deputy Lawrence Summers also steered through the 1999 repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act (1933), which had separated investment banking from the retail side. It allowed the banks to develop and sell the mortgage-backed instruments that became a principal factor in the financial collapse. In September 2011, the UK Independent Commission on Banking released a report in which it recommended a separation of investment and retail banking to prevent a repeat of the 2008 crisis.
In a December 2009 Newsweek article, Rubin described the extraordinary combination of circumstances that led to the global financial crisis, including market and credit excesses, low interest rates, massive increase in the use of complex derivatives, misguided AAA ratings, stagnant median real wages, abusive mortgage practices, and the over-leveraging of financial institutions, among many other factors. In the article, Rubin advocates for the reform of the financial system in order to better protect against systemic risk and devastating crises in the future. Rubin says "the market-based model must be combined with strong and effective government, nationally and transnationally, to deal with critical challenges that markets won't adequately address."
On January 9, 2009, Citigroup announcedd that Rubin had resigned as a senior adviser and would not seek re-election as a director of the corporation. Press reports noted that Rubin had drawn criticism for his role in the bank's recent problems that drove it to seek federal assistance.
Reflecting on his decision to join an institution devoted to bringing economic activity to neglected areas of the country, the Chicago Tribune said the following in an editorial: "Even before he became Bill Clinton's treasury secretary, during his days as a high-powered Wall Street executive, Rubin was passionate about fostering business investment as the way to fight poverty in depressed city and rural areas. That made him somewhat unusual among Democrats, who generally emphasized government anti-poverty programs."
In 1999, affirming his career-long interest in markets, Rubin joined Citigroup as a board member and as a participant "in strategic managerial and operational matters of the Company, but [...] no line responsibilities." The Wall Street Journal called this mix of oversight and management responsibilities "murky." In an interview with the Journal, Rubin said: "I think I've been a very constructive part of the Citigoup environment." Separately, the Journal noted that Citigroup shareholders have suffered losses of more than 70 percent since Rubin joined the firm and that he encouraged changes that led the firm to the brink of collapse. In December 2008, investors filed a lawsuit contending that Citigroup executives, including Rubin, sold shares at inflated prices while concealing the firm’s risks. A Citigroup spokesman said the lawsuit was without merit.
On January 8, 2001, he was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal
by President Clinton
.
On July 1, 2002, Rubin became a member of Harvard Corporation, the executive governing board of Harvard University
. This happened one year after he had received an honorary doctoral degree from the same university.
Rubin has written a memoir, In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington (ISBN 978-0-375-50585-0), co-written by Jacob Weisberg
. It was a New York Times bestseller as well as one of Business Week's ten best business books of 2003.
Rubin is a member of the Africa Progress Panel
(APP), an independent authority on Africa launched in April 2007 to focus world leaders' attention on delivering their commitments to the continent. The Panel launched a major report in London on Monday June 16, 2008, entitled Africa's Development: Promises and Prospects.
Rubin has been touted as a possible appointee to a cabinet post for President Barack Obama
. Rubin, alongside Austan Goolsbee
and Paul Volcker
, is one of Obama's economic advisers.
for four years under Mayor David Dinkins
. The Rubins have two grown sons, James (not to be confused with the former diplomat and journalist James Rubin
who served under President Clinton) and Philip.
, Rubin has served on the board of directors
of the New York Stock Exchange
, the Ford Motor Company
, Citigroup, the Harvard Corporation, the New York Futures Exchange, the New York City Partnership and the Center for National Policy
. He has also served on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York
, Mt. Sinai Hospital and Medical School
, the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Market Oversight and Financial Services Advisory Committee, the Mayor of New York's Council of Economic Advisors and the Governor's Council on Fiscal and Economic Priorities for the State of New York. He has been co-chairman of the board of directors
of the Council on Foreign Relations
since June 2007. On November 4, 2007, he became the Chairman of Citigroup and on January 9, 2009 he resigned from the position of Senior Counselor at Citigroup and announced he would not stand for re-election to the board.
, a debtor of Citigroup. The Treasury official refused. A subsequent congressional staff investigation cleared Rubin of any wrongdoing.
Some critics claim the repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act was a key factor in the 2008 financial crisis. Enacted just after the 1930s great depression, the Glass–Steagall Act separated commercial and investment banking. The law was repealed by Congress in 1999 during the Clinton presidency, while Rubin was Treasury Secretary. President Obama's current banking system proposals, appear to be a return to these former principles although there is no talk of reinstating Glass–Steagall.
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
during both the first and second Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
administrations. Before his government service, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
eventually serving as a member of the Board, and Co-Chairman from 1990-1992. His most prominent post-government role was as Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
, where he performed ongoing advisory and representational roles for the firm. From November to December 2007, he served temporarily as Chairman of Citigroup and resigned from the company on January 9, 2009. He received more than $126 million in cash and stock during his tenure at Citigroup.
He is currently engaged actively as a founder of The Hamilton Project, an economic policy think tank which produces research and proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans. He is Co-Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and sits on the board of the Harvard Corporation, Harvard University’s executive board. Mr. Rubin is chairman of the board of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the nation’s leading community development support organization, and he serves on the Board of Trustees of Mount Sinai-NYU Health. He also serves as Counselor at Centerview Partners
Centerview Partners
Centerview Partners is an independent investment banking and private equity investment firm. Centerview operates primarily as an investment banking advisory firm. The firm offers mergers and acquisitions advisory, takeover defense, capital allocation and divestitures services. The firm also...
, an investment banking advisory firm based in New York City.
Education and background
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Rubin moved to Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
, at an early age and graduated from Miami Beach High School
Miami Beach High School
Miami Beach Senior High School, commonly referred to as "Beach High" or "MBSH", is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue in the Miami Beach, Florida, right around the corner from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Gardens on Prairie Avenue and Dade Boulevard...
. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 35, sponsored by the American Legion, and received the rank of Eagle Scout. In 1960, Rubin graduated with an A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
summa cum laude in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He then attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
for three days before leaving to see the world. He later attended the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
after graduation and received an LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
in 1964.
Rubin began his career as an attorney at the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York City. He joined Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
in 1966 as an associate in the risk arbitrage
Risk arbitrage
Risk arbitrage, or merger arbitrage, is an investment or trading strategy often associated with hedge funds.Two principal types of merger are possible: a cash merger, and a stock merger. In a cash merger, an acquirer proposes to purchase the shares of the target for a certain price in cash...
department. Rubin proved his skills at the intricate art of investing his firm's capital in high-reward arbitrage
Arbitrage
In economics and finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets: striking a combination of matching deals that capitalize upon the imbalance, the profit being the difference between the market prices...
opportunities and became a general partner in 1971. He joined the management committee in 1980 along with fellow Democrat Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
, later a U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Rubin was Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer from 1987 to 1990. From the end of 1990 to 1992, Rubin served as Co-Chairman and Co-Senior Partner along with Stephen Friedman
Stephen Friedman (PFIAB)
Stephen Friedman is the former Chairman of the United States President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. He was nominated on October 27, 2005 to replace Brent Scowcroft in the position.-Life and career:...
.
Rubin has been awarded honorary degrees from several prestigious universities, including Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
.
Clinton administration
From January 20, 1993, to January 10, 1995, Robert Rubin served in the White House as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. In that capacity, he directed the National Economic Council, which Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
created after winning the presidency.
The National Economic Council, or NEC, enabled the White House to coordinate closely the workings of the Cabinet departments and agencies on policies ranging from budget and tax to international trade and alleviating poverty. The NEC coordinated policy recommendations going into the President’s office, and monitored implementation of the decisions that came out.
Robert Strauss, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, credited Rubin with making the system work. "He's surely the only man or woman in America that I know who could make the NEC succeed," Strauss said in 1994. "Anyone else would have been a disruptive force, and the council wouldn't have worked."
1990s global financial crisis
In January 1995, one year after the signing of the North American Free Trade AgreementNorth American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA) and immediately after Rubin was sworn in as Secretary of Treasury, Mexico was suffering through a financial crisis
Financial crisis
The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these...
that threatened to result in it defaulting
Default (finance)
In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...
on its foreign obligations. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, with the advice of Secretary Rubin and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
, provided $20 billion in US loan guarantees to the Mexican government through the Exchange Stabilization Fund
Exchange Stabilization Fund
The Exchange Stabilization Fund is an emergency reserve fund of the United States Treasury Department, normally used for foreign exchange intervention...
(ESF).
In 1997 and 1998, Treasury Secretary Rubin, Deputy Secretary Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers is an American economist. He served as the 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Director of the White House United States National Economic Council for President Barack Obama until November 2010.Summers is the...
, and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
worked with the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and others to effectively combat and contain financial crises in Russian, Asian, and Latin American financial markets. In its February 15, 1999, edition, Time Magazine dubbed the three policymakers "The Committee to Save the World."
Mr. Rubin was succeeded on July 1, 1999, as Treasury Secretary by his deputy, Lawrence H. Summers.
Economic record and the 2008 global financial crisis
Upon Rubin's retirement, Clinton called him the "greatest secretary of the Treasury since Alexander Hamilton". On April 18, 2010, in an interview on ABC’s This Week program, Clinton said Rubin was wrong in the advice he gave him not to regulate derivatives."During his tenure as Treasury Secretary", Senator Chuck Hagel
Chuck Hagel
Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002...
(R-NE) said, "Bob was an ideal public servant who put policy before politics."
In 1997, Rubin and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
strongly opposed giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates futures and option markets....
oversight of over-the-counter credit derivatives
Derivative (finance)
A derivative instrument is a contract between two parties that specifies conditions—in particular, dates and the resulting values of the underlying variables—under which payments, or payoffs, are to be made between the parties.Under U.S...
when this was proposed by Brooksley Born
Brooksley Born
Brooksley E. Born is an American attorney and former public official who, from August 26, 1996, to June 1, 1999, was chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission , the federal agency which oversees the futures and commodity options markets...
, the head of the CFTC. Rubin's role was highlighted in a Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
Frontline report, "The Warning". Over-the-counter credit derivatives were eventually excluded from regulation by the CFTC by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000
Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000
The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 is United States federal legislation that officially ensured the deregulation of financial products known as over-the-counter derivatives. It was signed into law on December 21, 2000 by President Bill Clinton...
. According to the Frontline documentary, they played a key role in the 2008 financial crisis.
Arthur Levitt Jr., a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has said in explaining Rubin's strong opposition to the regulations proposed by Born that Greenspan and Rubin were "...joined at the hip on this. They were certainly very fiercely opposed to this and persuaded me that this would cause chaos." However, in Rubin’s autobiography, he notes that he believed derivatives could pose significant problems and that many people who used derivatives did not fully understand the risks they were taking.
Rubin and his deputy Lawrence Summers also steered through the 1999 repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act (1933), which had separated investment banking from the retail side. It allowed the banks to develop and sell the mortgage-backed instruments that became a principal factor in the financial collapse. In September 2011, the UK Independent Commission on Banking released a report in which it recommended a separation of investment and retail banking to prevent a repeat of the 2008 crisis.
In a December 2009 Newsweek article, Rubin described the extraordinary combination of circumstances that led to the global financial crisis, including market and credit excesses, low interest rates, massive increase in the use of complex derivatives, misguided AAA ratings, stagnant median real wages, abusive mortgage practices, and the over-leveraging of financial institutions, among many other factors. In the article, Rubin advocates for the reform of the financial system in order to better protect against systemic risk and devastating crises in the future. Rubin says "the market-based model must be combined with strong and effective government, nationally and transnationally, to deal with critical challenges that markets won't adequately address."
On January 9, 2009, Citigroup announcedd that Rubin had resigned as a senior adviser and would not seek re-election as a director of the corporation. Press reports noted that Rubin had drawn criticism for his role in the bank's recent problems that drove it to seek federal assistance.
Post-political career
Upon leaving the Clinton administration, Rubin joined the Board of The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the nation’s leading community development support organization as Chairman.Reflecting on his decision to join an institution devoted to bringing economic activity to neglected areas of the country, the Chicago Tribune said the following in an editorial: "Even before he became Bill Clinton's treasury secretary, during his days as a high-powered Wall Street executive, Rubin was passionate about fostering business investment as the way to fight poverty in depressed city and rural areas. That made him somewhat unusual among Democrats, who generally emphasized government anti-poverty programs."
In 1999, affirming his career-long interest in markets, Rubin joined Citigroup as a board member and as a participant "in strategic managerial and operational matters of the Company, but [...] no line responsibilities." The Wall Street Journal called this mix of oversight and management responsibilities "murky." In an interview with the Journal, Rubin said: "I think I've been a very constructive part of the Citigoup environment." Separately, the Journal noted that Citigroup shareholders have suffered losses of more than 70 percent since Rubin joined the firm and that he encouraged changes that led the firm to the brink of collapse. In December 2008, investors filed a lawsuit contending that Citigroup executives, including Rubin, sold shares at inflated prices while concealing the firm’s risks. A Citigroup spokesman said the lawsuit was without merit.
On January 8, 2001, he was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal
Presidential Citizens Medal
The Presidential Citizens Medal is the second highest civilian award in the United States, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is awarded by the President of the United States, and may be given posthumously....
by President Clinton
William Clinton
Bill Clinton is the 42nd President of the United States. William Clinton may also refer to:*William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon , English nobleman from prominent Norman family dating to William the Conqueror; Lord High Admiral as of 1333*William Henry Clinton , British general from...
.
On July 1, 2002, Rubin became a member of Harvard Corporation, the executive governing board of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. This happened one year after he had received an honorary doctoral degree from the same university.
Rubin has written a memoir, In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington (ISBN 978-0-375-50585-0), co-written by Jacob Weisberg
Jacob Weisberg
Jacob Weisberg is an American political journalist, serving as editor-in-chief of Slate Group, a division of The Washington Post Company. Weisberg is also a Newsweek columnist. He served as the editor of Slate magazine for six years, until stepping down in June 2008...
. It was a New York Times bestseller as well as one of Business Week's ten best business books of 2003.
Rubin is a member of the Africa Progress Panel
Africa Progress Panel
The Africa Progress Panel consists of a group of distinguished individuals chaired by Kofi Annan whose objective is to track and encourage progress in Africa, and to underscore shared responsibility between African leaders and their international partners for sustaining it.The APP was originally...
(APP), an independent authority on Africa launched in April 2007 to focus world leaders' attention on delivering their commitments to the continent. The Panel launched a major report in London on Monday June 16, 2008, entitled Africa's Development: Promises and Prospects.
Rubin has been touted as a possible appointee to a cabinet post for President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Rubin, alongside Austan Goolsbee
Austan Goolsbee
Austan Dean Goolsbee is an American economist, formerly serving as the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and the youngest member of the cabinet of President Barack Obama. Goolsbee is from the University of Chicago where he is the Robert P...
and Paul Volcker
Paul Volcker
Paul Adolph Volcker, Jr. is an American economist. He was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan from August 1979 to August 1987. He is widely credited with ending the high levels of inflation seen in the United States in the 1970s and...
, is one of Obama's economic advisers.
Family
Rubin is married to Judith Oxenberg Rubin, who served as the New York City Commissioner of ProtocolProtocol (politics)
Protocol can mean any logbook or other artifact of a political meeting between persons from different nations, such as the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The most notorious example of a forged logbook is "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"....
for four years under Mayor David Dinkins
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
. The Rubins have two grown sons, James (not to be confused with the former diplomat and journalist James Rubin
James Rubin
James Philip "Jamie" Rubin is a former diplomat and journalist. He is currently an executive editor at Bloomberg News. Having served in the State Department during the administration of President Bill Clinton, he became a Sky News television news journalist and commentator...
who served under President Clinton) and Philip.
Positions held
During his time in the private sectorPrivate sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
, Rubin has served on the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
, the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, Citigroup, the Harvard Corporation, the New York Futures Exchange, the New York City Partnership and the Center for National Policy
Center for National Policy
thumb|The Center for National PolicyThe Center for National Policy is a non-profit, "non-partisan" public policy think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C...
. He has also served on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
, Mt. Sinai Hospital and Medical School
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
, the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Market Oversight and Financial Services Advisory Committee, the Mayor of New York's Council of Economic Advisors and the Governor's Council on Fiscal and Economic Priorities for the State of New York. He has been co-chairman of the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
since June 2007. On November 4, 2007, he became the Chairman of Citigroup and on January 9, 2009 he resigned from the position of Senior Counselor at Citigroup and announced he would not stand for re-election to the board.
Compensation
Robert Rubin received over $17,000,000 in compensation from Citigroup and a further $33,000,000 in stock options as of 2008.Criticism
Rubin sparked controversy in 2001 when he contacted an acquaintance at the U.S. Treasury Department and asked if the department could convince bond-rating agencies not to downgrade the corporate debt of EnronEnron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
, a debtor of Citigroup. The Treasury official refused. A subsequent congressional staff investigation cleared Rubin of any wrongdoing.
Some critics claim the repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act was a key factor in the 2008 financial crisis. Enacted just after the 1930s great depression, the Glass–Steagall Act separated commercial and investment banking. The law was repealed by Congress in 1999 during the Clinton presidency, while Rubin was Treasury Secretary. President Obama's current banking system proposals, appear to be a return to these former principles although there is no talk of reinstating Glass–Steagall.
Sources
External links
- Profile at Council on Foreign RelationsCouncil on Foreign RelationsThe Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
- Profile at Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay area
- The Warning, PBS Frontline, 2009