After the Ball

May 19, 2003
The 1905 battle for control of the Equitable Life Assurance Society strikingly parallels the corporate scandals that dominate headlines a century later. For example, majority shareholder James Hazen Hyde, accompanied by a team of corporate lawyers, told an investigating committee he'd authorized questionable deals on the advice of executives whom he had trusted, while James W. Alexander, who sought to kick Hyde off the board, complained he was being punished for blowing the whistle on the company's shaky finances. But, as Beard, who's written for Elle
and Mirabella, ably shows, Hyde didn't resemble any modern-day CEO—more like several of them rolled into one. Inheriting his position while still a bachelor in his 20s, he was a fixture on New York's society pages, arguably more famous for his wardrobe and love of high-speed carriage racing than for his job. The titular ball was an all-night costume party, complete with a private theatrical performance, with a price tag of at least $50,000. That's even more expensive than it sounds; the failure to compare dollars in 1905 and 2003 is one of the book's few flaws. With a vivid cast of supporting characters, including some of America's greatest financial titans, this lively history offers all the vicarious thrills of family drama and boardroom intrigue without making readers apprehensive about their own investment portfolios. 24 b&w illus. Agent, Peter Matson.