Jefferies’ boss Richard Handler is not your average investment banking CEO: He’s a minor Instagram celebrity who tells his fans to protect their work-life balance—and he’s just taken a leaf out of his own book by splashing out on a “gift to himself” that he can enjoy off duty with his family.
The 62-year-old, who joined Jefferies in 1990 as a trader and salesman, has sold $65 million of his company stock to buy himself a luxury yacht.
Handler sold 1.5 million shares, or 7% of his holdings, to facilitate the purchase, marking the first time he has sold shares in Jefferies in the 34 years he’s been at the bank, other than for charitable or tax purposes.
“My sale of shares today was a gift to myself and my family, and I do not intend to sell any further shares,” Handler said in a statement. “I remain extremely bullish on Jefferies.”
Proceeds from Wednesday’s sale are being used to buy a personal boat and pay tax obligations, Jefferies echoed, while adding that following the transaction, Handler will still own about 19.25 million Jefferies shares.
About 70% of the CEO’s pay has been in the form of company shares, the company added.
According to the Financial Times, Handler is buying the 164ft yacht from Tilman Fertitta—the hospitality billionaire, owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, and a longtime Jefferies client.
It’s not the first time the duo have done business together: The two men have raised four special purpose acquisition companies together under the name Landcadia Holdings.
Fertitta has even described Handler as one of his closest friends and has credited the banker with building a “juggernaut” that can go toe-to-toe with more established rivals.
Coins2Day has contacted Jefferies for comment.
You’re in charge of your work-life balance
Handler recently encouraged his 48,000-strong Instagram following to “take responsibility” for their life choices, including creating boundaries with work to avoid burnout.
“There are always times when sacrifices must be made and sometimes there are periods of intensity when you have absolutely no choice, but surprise, surprise, the world will keep turning if you inject the right amount of personal balance,” he wrote.
“Work hard, and when your work is done, leave the office and go exercise, see your family and friends, explore a new city, or just rest,” Handler similarly advised Wall Street’s interns last year. “The ‘first in’ and the ‘last out’ may not be viewed as the most dedicated, but rather as the one who wastes the most time.”
His view is on work-life balance is a breath of fresh air in the famously dog-eat-dog financial industry.
Wall Street workers would often be on the job for 120 hours a week prior to the pandemic, with research revealing that it was leading to a range of physical and mental health problems in the sector.
Much has changed since then, thanks to the pandemic-induced shift to working from home: Last year, more than two out of three banks were offering workers either full flexibility or some sort of hybrid work arrangement, according to a survey of more than 300 financial services institutions by Scoop, which helps companies coordinate hybrid teams.
But banking giant bosses have been mustering all their power to return to pre-pandemic ways of working. Both JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have already ordered workers back to the office five days a week. The latter bank’s CEO, David Solomon, famously called remote working “an aberration that we’re going to correct as quickly as possible.”
In London’s financial district, not even a global pandemic, lockdowns, and new levels of respect for colleagues’ personal space (remember the elbow bump?) Were enough to kill Wolf of Wall Street-era antics.
Last month, a cryptocurrency company served sushi off the bodies of half-naked models at a private function—and the hedonistic soirée is just the latest example of a series of outdated activities in the City as bosses try to turn back the clock on recent inclusive advances to working culture.
Work-hard play-hard
Handler may be a fan of ringfencing your time and finding balance, but it doesn’t mean he’s shy when it comes to working hard—he is one of few executives who have truly started from the bottom and worked their way up the ranks.
The New Jersey native joined Jefferies as a trader and salesman in 1990. It took him little over 10 years to scale to the top and by January 2001, Handler was steering Jefferies as its CEO.
Under his leadership, the company has gone on to become one of America’s most prestigious financial institutions that competes against the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
As the company has become more successful, so has Handler. Just a few years into his role, Handler earned himself the title of the “new king of Wall Street” thanks to his $40 million-plus pay package.
By 2021, Bloomberg had estimated that his net worth had already exceeded the $1 billion mark.
