WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO BERNSTEIN?

For quite a few years the eulogies of Sanford Bernstein appeared on the AllianceBernstein webpage. It seems that after Lew Sander’s departure from the firm, where he was escorted out by security, the eulogies about the founder were removed from the corporation’s website.

I decided to search my files and read the eulogies that were published in a special booklet that was sent to me by Roger Hertog in 2005 with a hand written note saying “You were there…”

Upon rereading what I originally thought was an emotional and positive eulogy; this rereading directed me to a new conclusion. I think I now can understand why the eulogies may have been removed from the Alliance website considering the professional conduct expected from today’s executives.

After all, look at what just happened to Mark Hurd of Hewlett Packard. I am not saying I support the decision of the Hewlett Board of Directors in any way shape or form, but Mark Hurd’s transgressions seem to be a lot less debilitating than those of Bernstein, with the possible exception of the expense account fiasco.

Reviewing Roger Hertog’s eulogy we came upon the following choice of words:
1. “Everyone had a Zalman story. Some are humorous, some inspiring, and some are even terribly embarrassing.”
2. “He smoked big, ugly-stinky-cigars, maybe a dozen a day.”
3. “He was hungry for life and had a voracious appetite-for food, for sex, and for achievement.”
4. “He was totally uninhibited talking about his life and yours. From the most personal details between a husband and wife...”
5. “These conversations, more like monologues, would be filled with a constant stream of sexual allusions and profanities.”
6. “In a flash of impulse, he (Bernstein) literally jumped on the table-all 200 pounds of him-and was suddenly peering down from above. It was outrageous-this giant of a man was walking up and down this table pointing out numbers with the toe of his shoe.”
7. “He could be angrier than any person I knew.”

Lew Sander’s used the following statements in his eulogy about Bernstein.
1. “Sandy seemed to thrive on turbulence. Tranquility, consensus, made him anxious.”
2. “He liked to stir up the pot.”
3. “He adopted a lexicon consistent with this feature of who he was. It was one of hyperbole, extremes, sexual analogues wherever they seemed germane-no, let me revise that-sexual analogues whether they were germane or not. And of course, expletives to punctuate his point…”
4. “The sexual analogue, of which there hundreds.”
5. “I will miss him. Not all of him…”

What are the secrets that have been hidden? All of the eulogy commentaries seem to be related to thirty years ago. Why wasn’t there any recent commentary in the eulogies? Did he just disappear into religion? From the lack of any new information on Bernstein, is it possible he had an illness before his lymphoma or was he just relegated to a figurehead in some negotiation after I left the firm. In any case, I wonder if they would remove the Bernstein name totally from the AllianceBernstein website if they could. Stay tuned…