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Byron Wien
Born
Byron Richard Wien

(1933-02-14)February 14, 1933
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 2023(2023-10-25) (aged 90)
Southampton, New York, U.S.
Alma materHarvard University (BA, MBA)
Occupations
  • Investor
  • writer
Spouse
Anita Volz
​
(m. 1978)​

Byron Richard Wien (/wiːn/;[1] February 14, 1933 – October 25, 2023) was an American investor. After a long career as an executive at Morgan Stanley, he became vice chairman of Blackstone Advisory Partners, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group.[2][3][4] He was regarded as one of Wall Street's most prominent market strategists.[5]

Background

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Byron Richard Wien was born in Chicago on February 14, 1933 to Max Wien and Anne (Lurie) Wien.[1][6] Both of his parents had died by the time he was 14 years old, and he was thereafter raised by his maternal aunt Rose.[1] he was a 1950 graduate of Senn High School in the Edgewater neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. He received an AB with honors from Harvard College in 1954, where he was on the staff of The Harvard Crimson.[7] Two years later, he graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School.[1]

Career

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Wien began working on Wall Street in the 1960s. Wien worked as portfolio manager for 20 years before joining Morgan Stanley in 1985. He became Managing Director later that year and spent 20 years at Morgan Stanley, where he eventually became senior U.S. Investment Strategist.[8] During this time, he wrote weekly investment reports, and was considered among the most widely read investment writers.[1] Wien joined hedge fund Pequot Capital Management in 2005 until the firm's closing in 2009.[9] He joined The Blackstone Group as vice chairman in 2009.[1]

He produced an annual “Ten Surprises” list which was widely distributed on Wall Street.[10] He also regularly appeared in the financial press, making television appearances and providing quotes for news stories.[9] In 1995, Wien co-authored a book with George Soros on the legendary investor’s life and philosophy, Soros on Soros – Staying Ahead of the Curve.

First Call named Wien the most-read analyst of 1988, while Smart Money magazine honored him as Wall Street's top strategist in 1990.[9] He was named to the 2004 SmartMoney Power 30 list of Wall Street’s most influential investors, thinkers, enforcers, policy makers, players and market movers. He appeared in the “Thinker” category.[11]

In 2006, Wien was named by New York Magazine as one of the sixteen most influential people in Wall Street.[12] The New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2008.[13]

He was on the Investment Advisory Committee of The Open Society Foundation, and a member of the Investment Committees of Lincoln Center and The Pritzker Foundation. He was a trustee of the New York Historical Society and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the JPB Foundation.[14]

Personal life and death

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Wien married Lois Rosenthal in 1960.[15] After that marriage ended in divorce, Wien married economic consultant Anita Volz in 1978.[1] The couple divided their time between Manhattan and Wainscott, New York.[1]

Wien died in Southampton, New York, on October 25, 2023, at the age of 90.[1][16]

Wien's memoir, which he co-authored with former Blackstone colleague Taylor Becker, was published posthumously on November 12, 2024.[17][18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gabriel, Trip (November 9, 2023). "Byron Wien, Wall Street Seer of the Unexpected, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Byron Wien Winds Down", dated November 26, 2001, in Forbes online. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  3. ^ "Byron Wien Announces Predictions for Ten Surprises for 2014". January 6, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Navarro, Bruno J. (June 12, 2013). "Byron Wien Expects 'Trouble Ahead'", CNBC. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  5. ^ Herbst-Bayliss, Svea (October 26, 2023). "Wall Street strategist and '10 Surprises' author Byron Wien dies at 90". Reuters. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Outstanding Young Men of America. Junior Chamber of Commerce. 1965. p. 567. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Brooks, David (December 8, 2011). "The Life Report: Byron R. Wien". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "Famed Former U.S. Investment Strategist Byron Wien Has Died". Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Trip, Gabriel (November 9, 2023). "Byron Wien, Wall Street Seer of the Unexpected, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  10. ^ "Investor Byron Wien of Blackstone dies at 90". CNBC. October 26, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  11. ^ "Blackstone Economists – Byron Wien in Conversation with Joe Zidle". HBS African-American Alumni Association. Harvard Business School African-American Alumni Association (HBSAAA). Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Investor Byron Wien of Blackstone dies at 90". CNBC. October 26, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Oster, Patrick; Lim, Dawn (October 26, 2023). "Byron Wien, Wall Street 'Surprises' Forecaster, Dies at 90". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "NOON TALK: The 10 Surprises of 2018 with Byron Wien, Vice Chairman Blackstone's Private Wealth Solutions Group". Harvard Club of New York. Harvard Club of New York City. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  15. ^ Outstanding Young Men of America. Junior Chamber of Commerce. 1965. p. 567. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "Byron Wien, Wall Street Forecaster of '10 Surprises,' Dies at 90". BNN Bloomberg. October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  17. ^ "Publisher Page for Stay at Risk and Live Forever Lessons from a Life of Curiosity, Grit, and Reinvention". Advantage Books. Advantage Books. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  18. ^ "Book Website for Stay at Risk and Live Forever". Stay at Risk and Live Forever: Lessons from a Life of Curiosity, Grit and Reinvention. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
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