It was one of his earliest and most unforgettable moments in corporate life. Young Wilbur Ross was closing a real estate deal with the legendary Bill Zeckendorf at the real estate magnate’s panoramic and totally circular office. Catching Ross gawking at his surroundings, Zeckendorf comes up from behind, puts his arm around the young man, and says, “If you had been backed into a fing corner as often as I have, you would want a goddamn round office too.”
Not that Ross had been scratching and clawing his way out of adversity all his life, but, well, it comes with the territory of being a Wall Street legend, known as the “King of Bankruptcy.” Over a 55-year career, he helped structure more than $400 billion in assets, was named by Bloomberg as one of the 50 most influential people in global finance, and served — and survived — four tumultuous years as secretary of commerce under President Donald Trump.
That illustrious history and the many lessons learned with it make up the substance of his just-released memoir and life primer, “Risks and Returns” (Regnery, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing Inc.).
The subtitle of the book, “Creating Success in Business and Life,” is not so much a roadmap for young financiers, but rather the path Ross took to reach the pinnacle of his profession. It is colored with fascinating anecdotes from his Harvard Business School days to his start on Wall Street to his counsel with some of the giants of business to his Cabinet position under Trump. The company names he worked with and for read like a Fortune 100 list, and as for the people, Ross finds himself rubbing elbows with names like Rothschild, Buffett, Icahn, Milken, Branson, King Charles, John Lennon.