New York (AFP)
Félix Rohatyn, a great Wall Street figure credited with saving New York from bankruptcy before becoming US ambassador to Paris, died Saturday at the age of 91 at his home in Manhattan, his son announced quoted by the New York Times.
This Austrian-born Jewish refugee spent part of his youth in France, which he left in 1940 when the Germans arrived.
A naturalized American, Félix Rohatyn became known in the field of finance: he accumulated masterpieces in the mergers and acquisitions sector, climbing the ranks of the prestigious investment bank Lazard Frères (now Lazard).
A skilled negotiator, he became an adviser listened to by the American political elites and countless businessmen, building a reputation as a man capable of finding an acceptable solution to the most difficult problems. We call him "Felix the Fixer".
This quality earned him the mission of saving New York from bankruptcy in the 1970s, when the city was crumbling in debt. A task he will assume significantly longer than initially planned, overseeing the finances of the metropolis for 18 years.
"As a child, he fled Nazi oppression. As an adult, he led the recovery of the city where he has taken up residence. The extraordinary life of Félix Rohatyn is an emblematic story of New York," commented the mayor of the city, Bill de Blasio.
Supporter of financial regulation and state intervention in the economy, the financier arouses the distrust of the Republicans, who take a dim view of his ambition to become Secretary of the Treasury in a Democratic government.
President Bill Clinton will ultimately appoint this friend of François Mitterrand and Henry Kissinger as U.S. Ambassador to Paris from 1997 to 2000.
Perfectly French-speaking, Mr. Rohatyn was Commander of the Legion of Honor.
© 2019 AFP