The 1980s Business and the Economy: Headline Makers

Ivan Boesky
Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt
Reginald F. Lewis
Donald Trump

Ivan Boesky (1937–) Ivan Boesky was one of the most famous, and notorious, deal makers on Wall Street during the 1980s. However, it was a poorly kept secret that he participated in insider trading. Boesky would use illegally obtained confidential information to gain an unfair advantage in stock trading. In November 1986, government investigators announced that Boesky had pleaded guilty to insider trading and had agreed to pay a $100 million fine. Before he went to jail, Boesky testified against junk bond king Michael Milken and others in the investigation of illegal dealings on Wall Street.

Nelson Bunker Hunt (1926–) and William Herbert Hunt (1929–) Nelson Bunker Hunt and his brother William Herbert Hunt attempted one of the most spectacular and unsuccessful financial schemes of the early 1980s. During the 1970s, the Hunts had begun to buy silver, hoping to drive up the price of that precious metal. By 1980, the price had risen from two dollars per ounce to fifty dollars. It was estimated they owned one-third of the world's silver supply. Then, unexpectedly, the value of silver began to fall. The Hunts, who had borrowed heavily to finance their scheme, ended up losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Reginald F. Lewis (1942–1993) Reginald F. Lewis formed TLC Group, a New York investment firm, in 1983. Soon after, the firm acquired the McCall Pattern Company, one of the nation's oldest home sewing pattern companies. In 1987, as chairman of the TLC Group, Lewis sold McCall at an incredible profit over the original purchase price. Using that money, Lewis purchased Beatrice International Foods, an international organization made up of sixty-four companies, for $985 million. The purchase made the new TLC Beatrice the largest African American-led company in America.

Donald Trump (1946–) Donald Trump received more publicity and public acclaim than any other businessperson in the 1980s. In 1975, he had purchased a run-down tract of land near the Hudson River in New York to build a housing development. By the mid-1980s, he had built the Trump Tower, the Trump Plaza, and the Grand Hyatt Hotel. He also moved into the casino business in Atlantic City. Through self-promotion, Trump became a household name in America. In 1987, he published Trump: The Art of the Deal, which held up his life as a model for business success.