All in the family at two of America’s advisory groups
It’s understandable for scions of famous families to attempt to strike out on their own. Take Peter and John Weinberg, grandsons of Sidney Weinberg, the legendary figure who helped make the modern Goldman Sachs.
Goldman would feature multiple generations of Weinberg executives, including Peter and John. But two decades ago, Peter left to form Perella Weinberg Partners and about a decade ago, John went to Evercore as a senior leader for the firm founded by Roger Altman in 1995.
Their respective roles have been in the spotlight recently.
The FT last week revealed Perella Weinberg had ditched talks to merge with Piper Sandler after senior PWP bankers balked at the combination.
Since its founding in 2006, Perella Weinberg has been involved in its share of big deals, working with groups such as BlackRock and even the US Department of Commerce. But its annual revenue remains less than $1bn and its market capitalisation isn’t much bigger, making a deal with a larger Wall Street player understandable.
Things have been brighter for the other Weinberg cousin.
Since the start of 2017, right after John Weinberg joined, Evercore shares have returned more than 350 per cent including reinvested dividends. Its more than $10bn market cap and $4bn in annual revenues put it in the league of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman. Weinberg’s key strength has been bringing over several top Goldman bankers.
The FT scooped on Sunday that John Weinberg has extended his stay as CEO of Evercore for three more years, which will take him into his seventies. Evercore said it was appointing two presidents of the group — newly created roles — to empower a new generation.
As for this current generation of Weinbergs who tried to forge a second act beyond Goldman, it’s been an interesting, if uneven, ride.