Reporting from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Maria
Bartiromo, anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” has been witness to The
Street’s hubris, its humility and its hope.Whether interviewing the Prime Minister of Spain or probing Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman and co-founder of Blackstone, Bartiromo is, first and foremost, a journalist. In her book, The 10 Laws of Enduring Success, she wrote, “I love being in the center of the news, interacting with people from all walks of life, writing stories, reporting… I like interviewing someone and figuring out what’s going on inside their head.” And she enjoys the spotlight.
Wall Street is her stage. In an exclusive interview with The Suit Magazine, she says, “I just think what happens on Wall Street impacts many people. It’s not Wall Street and Main Street. We are all connected.” Bartiromo delights in de-mystifying the concepts of finance and money for the residents of Main Street. She communicates through television, hosting a show syndicated by over 200 stations.
A reporter once dubbed her “The Money Honey,” and a website features “The Maria Bartiromo Hairdex,” a tongue-in-cheek forecast of the markets based on her cowlicks. “It may be surprising, but I’ve never found it offensive. I don’t take myself that seriously,” she wrote. Her knowledge, however, delves deeper than the day-to-day movements of the stock market and the details of pulling off a live show. “It’s the business world and the economy – those are the subjects I love to think about,” she says.
Acknowledging a dilemma between her involvement with Wall Street and its greed, she speaks to an issue larger than executive bonuses. “Oh, sure, over the last ten years, Wall Street was paying such high salaries, the allure of compensation [attracted] people coming out of MBA schools, and even law schools; and, over time, the financial services industry didn’t only dominate the S&P 500 in terms of stocks,” she says, “it dominated new jobs, instead of jobs that would have stimulated our economy, like healthcare, biotech and entrepreneurship.”
Bartiromo paints the picture of a financial industry which had morphed into a colossal money-machine. “It became too big; it became an allure for the wrong reasons. You don’t want a career because you’re gonna get rich; you go into a job because you love doing it,” she states. “That’s my rule of success. I went into journalism because I love it. Journalists don’t make the outsize salaries. For a time, Wall Street became so big and dominant, and a negative in many ways.”
Unchecked arrogance on Wall Street did lead to bloated executive bonuses, but what should be done about executive compensation in general? “It’s a legitimate question, how we affect that change,” she begins, then pauses before adding, “but I’m not a fan of officials pointing fingers and blaming. The bad apples made the headlines. I think that real class warfare was going on.”
She now shifts her tone in defense of the free market. “Today, there is a little more balance. Companies are not only focused on shareholders, but also [on] communities, and I think it’s important to recognize those companies that are doing good and are impacting communities and families in a positive way,” she adds. “We learned a lot from the financial crisis. There was a lot of embarrassment going around, in terms of who made the biggest mistakes, and, coming out of that, there is a lot more humility.”
Looking at government’s role in the economy, starting with the Federal Reserve, she says, “During the financial crisis, the Fed did a stellar job and was the only one that did all of the right things… I’m surprised the Fed is the only one doing anything about this.” She pauses again and continues. “[Quantitative easing] is mind-boggling, but Bernanke seems very sure of himself. I’m not sure. The worry is that it’s going to cause inflation. There has been some negative reaction by the market, but [the effect] remains to be seen.”
Bartiromo contends that presidential and legislative efforts in response to the downturn have not been geared towards growth. “I think that the policies from the federal government have not been stimulative,” she adds. “You talk about higher healthcare costs, higher taxes, although that’s going to change because they’re extending the Bush tax cuts. But if you want to create jobs, you have to look at the source of job creation, and that’s business,” she asserts. “Government does not create jobs, and so you have to put into place policies that encourage business.”
Washington’s policies and its gridlock have often been accused of squelching creativity and innovation. Bartiromo wryly says, “We have to unlock our ingenuity. [Instead], we’re denigrating business people and calling them evil [while] the rest of the world is laughing at us. They are wondering how they can be more like us; how they can become the place where people want to come to, in order to send their kids to school and get better health care. You see Russia trying to create a silicon valley of its own,” she adds, “and you see the Chinese trying to create new manufacturing, solar panels. Everybody is racing to become number one, so the United States has to realize that to stay in our position we have to compete on a lot of levels.”
Speaking about the economic rise of the East, her trust and hope in American free enterprise resonates. “I’m not concerned because, at the end of the day, America is a great country, and we will always figure it out, but the leadership is ours to lose.” Bartiromo rattles off figures, “We’re talking about 1.1 billion in India, 1.3 billion in China; we have 300 million people in America, so these countries are out-sizing us. We have to [understand] that just because we’re a superpower and a leadership nation in the world, it doesn’t mean we’ll always be, so we have to protect the things that are great about this country, [like] free markets [and] entrepreneurship.”
There is one aspect of state-run capitalism which can teach western free-market capitalism a lesson. “China’s not thinking about the next two years and [not thinking] ‘will our politicians get elected again?’” she says. “They’re thinking about the next twenty years, the next hundred years. They’re long-term thinkers, and that’s what we should be as well.”
In addition to her work on Wall Street, Maria Bartiromo has another passionate pursuit. She was an adjunct professor at NYU this past semester. “I think that it’s important to teach kids about money at a young age,” she explains. “I think there’s a reason we’ve had a zero-percent savings rate and debt in this country. It’s because no one ever teaches you that stuff; it’s important, especially for women who need to take control of their lives,” she adds. “So I’m interested in education, talking about money, doing things on the side, but, basically, I love what I’m doing in terms of business journalism.”
Towards the end of the interview, a hint of melancholy tinges Bartiromo’s voice. She began talking about her friend, Joey Ramone, of the legendary New York-based rock group The Ramones, who died of lymphoma in 2001. “Joey was so sweet. You can be a superstar and have so much success, but you can remember who you are and where you came from, because everything is so fragile, and maybe you have talent but also had a little luck along the way, and you have to realize that,” she said.
Bartiromo recalled being invited to hear Joey play a song he wrote about her, at CBGB’s, but she was too busy. “It goes by so fast, you know; I just want people to know that when they’re getting along with their careers, it does rush by so quickly that they should appreciate those things. A career can be so incredibly exciting, but everything is so fragile. You have to cherish every moment and be grateful,” she adds. “I think you also have to be humble and keep your feet on the ground. Joey Ramone was just a really good guy who did appreciate all of that – down-to-earth – and I find that comforting.”
Such strong connections to people have influenced Bartiromo’s work. When assessing the words of a person she is interviewing, she doesn’t sound judgmental or condescending. Perhaps, it’s from her upbringing and her sense of gratitude. “I have a very close relationship with my family, and those are the things you have to appreciate,” she offers, “things that are special and mean a lot, and you can’t take them for granted.” That compassion and gratitude keeps Bartiromo centered. And it helps to keep away negative thoughts. Her husband, Jonathan ‘Jono’ Steinberg, rhetorically asked her, “Do you know when I knew I was going to marry you? It was the day you woke up laughing. And I asked you, ‘Why are you laughing?’ You said, ‘I was dreaming about ice cream cones’.”
Maria Bartiromo is many things – a driven questioner, analyst, and performer – a compassionate family member, friend and teacher. She is a staunch defender of free-market capitalism, while at the same time a kind proponent of relationship and cooperation. Balance is an essential in her life – so is trust. “I work a lot, but I have an inner circle, and that inner circle matters a lot to me,” she states.
For Maria, the future looks bright. “I’m happy with what I’m doing. In this industry, for the long-term, I like following business trends and the economy, and so I would like to continue doing this for as long as I can.” She admires the strength and youthful vigor of the people she has interviewed, many of them in their 80s and 90s. They remain active and engaged in business. “That’s the way I want to be – to live a very long life but die young.”