Inside Money

December 1, 2020
Beyond financial circles, few Americans recognize the name Brown Brothers Harriman. The banking giant has kept a low profile, letting others hog the celebrity spotlight. Author, columnist, and podcast host Karabell (The Leading Indicators, 2014) clarifies the record, revealing this bank's outsized influence in U.S. life, both in finance and politics. Founded in Baltimore at the outset of the nineteenth century by Irish immigrants, Brown Brothers began its wealth trading in Irish linens, then expanded into Southern cotton and railroads. The family firm survived the Panic of 1837, the Civil War, and the Great Depression before merging with the banking house of Harriman, a firm equally committed to maintaining a reputation for reliability, honesty, and solvency. Brown Brothers became a central part of the American establishment, fostering old-school connections and committing to sound stewardship and government service. Avoiding the excesses of the 1990s and 2000s, Brown Brothers Harriman stayed afloat in the 2008 collapse. Karabell writes financial history compellingly, transcending dull accountancy with the drama of humans creating and managing wealth.

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March 22, 2021
Journalist and former finance executive Karabell (The Last Campaign) delivers a largely flattering history of the private investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman. In 1800, Alexander Brown left Belfast, Ireland, for Baltimore, Md., where he became an importer of linen and an exporter of tobacco. Drawing on company records, Karabell tracks the evolution of the Brown family business from trading to investment banking, and its merger, at the height of the Great Depression, with a bank founded by railroad heir and U.S. diplomat W. Averell Harriman. Along the way, Karabell documents formative moments in America’s economic and political history, including the rise of the cotton industry; the building of the nation’s first railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio; the U.S. invasion and occupation of Nicaragua in the early 20th century; and William Paley’s takeover of the CBS radio network in the 1920s. According to Karabell, Brown Brothers Harriman has weathered wars, banking panics, and stock market crashes by following Alexander Brown’s advice to his sons, including “avoid unnecessary risks,” don’t trade with “unvetted partners,” and “be known as someone whom others could trust.” Though he underplays the seamier aspects of the story, Karabell draws an illuminating contrast between Brown Brothers Harriman and behemoths such as Chase and Goldman Sachs. Fans of business history will be rapt.

Starred review from March 12, 2021

The history of American capitalism is intricately intertwined with the evolution of the private investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman, which has thrived for over 200 years. In the 19th and 20th centuries, this institution provided credit and helped establish the banking and financial systems that fueled rapid economic growth and wealth creation. The partnership survived a number of financial crises, while many of its competitors floundered. Notable figures once worked at the company, including W. Averell Harriman, Prescott Bush, and Robert A. Lovett. In this extensively well-researched book, author, investor, and former financial executive Karabell (The Leading Indicators) elucidates how deals and friendships often take place through social and family networking. Despite its achievements and tragedies, the Brown family has remained extremely private about its affairs, and Brown Brothers Harriman has often operated under the radar. Karabell had full access to the company's archives and has produced the first comprehensive inside story of Brown Brothers Harriman and the peoplebehind it. VERDICT A long overdue history offering a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world's leading financial institutions. Recommended for public and academic library readers.--Caroline Geck, Somerset, NJ

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