Richard Rainwater is one of the most vital men I've ever met. Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Walt Disney (DIS), described the Texas billionaire to me this way: "Of anybody I ever met, Richard was the most charismatic, the most outgoing, most hands-on, huggy, high-fiving, jumping-up-and-down, vivacious executive."
So it is terribly ironic and terribly cruel to see Rainwater, a self-made success and one of the greatest dealmakers ever, suffering from a brain disease called PSP. Before two years ago, when he was diagnosed and I heard whispers from his friends that he was very sick, I had never heard of PSP. Neither had Rainwater. PSP stands for progressive supranuclear palsy. As it turns out, it is, according to certain measures by experts of degenerative brain diseases, the worst disease that you can get. Eisner said this to me about the brilliant dealmaker with the quick and beautiful mind: "To have him relegated to this condition that incapacitates him? It's the irony of human existence."
For me, it was a thrill—a poignant thrill—to tell the definitive story of Richard Rainwater. I had first met him in 1997 when I wrote a cover story about his wife Darla, The Toughest Babe in Business—and it was fascinating to reconnect with her as my Fortune colleague Peter Elkind and I partnered on this story. (Darla nicknamed us P-squared.) Not only is Peter a renowned investigative reporter (he co-wrote the Enron book, The Smartest Guys in the Room). He is also a resident of Fort Worth, Rainwater's hometown. So it was an honor all around. And while it is awkward to tell you to "enjoy" The Fight of Richard Rainwater's Life, there is plenty of joy and inspiration in this story. The fun-loving Rainwater himself would want you to enjoy his story, so click here and please do.
As powerful and provocative women (Gloria Steinem, Chelsea Handler, Rosie O'Donnell...) have been swarming Warren Buffett to boost his so-called Buffett Rule--his pitch to tax the super-rich at higher rates, in line with the middle class--a lot of ordinary people wonder: How much money would this amount to, and what good might it do for America?
At the recent Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) chief executive laid MORE
Patricia Sellers - Oct 20, 2011 10:11 AM ET
Sallie Krawcheck
It was a double hit to Fortune's Most Powerful Women list last Tuesday when Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz and Bank of America's (BAC) Sallie Krawcheck got fired.
Bartz, No. 10 in our 2010 MPW rankings, went out with a bang--as my explosive interview with her, F-bombs included, shows. Meanwhile, Krawcheck, BofA's global wealth management chief and No. 24 on our list, exited without a sound.
I know both women well, and it's worth MORE
Patricia Sellers - Sep 12, 2011 9:26 AM ET
by Patricia Sellers
On Monday we asked, "Are girls afraid of money?"
America (and beyond) voted and...I don't know what to conclude except I know that the question stirred the pot.
In the heated debate that ensued, I particularly appreciated the viewpoint of Matt in Springfield, VA, who said he wasn't surprised by the results of the experiment in which five $20 bills were placed randomly on classroom desks, and female college students MORE
Patricia Sellers - Apr 22, 2011 3:35 PM ET
The debate rages on about women and money. After I published "Are women afraid of money?"--which stirred up this week's far-flung opinionated commentary--Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN, emailed me her thoughts. Her note was so insightful that I asked her if I could run it as a Guest Post.
Credit: Ed Haas
Sobbott knows entrepreneurs. At American Express (AXP) since 1990, she has headed OPEN, the company's small-business card MORE
Patricia Sellers - Apr 21, 2011 10:49 AM ET
Lehman's Erin Callan
by Patricia Sellers
Erin Callan is Wall Street's Greta Garbo.
After Lehman Brothers (BCS) fired her as chief financial officer in June 2008 -- four months before the firm filed Chapter 11 -- Callan fled to her home in the Hamptons. She's been holed up in Long Island's affluent beach enclave for the past two years. Former colleagues and friends say she's incommunicado, and she's refused to speak to MORE
Patricia Sellers - Feb 22, 2011 2:13 PM ET
by Patricia Sellers
Meredith Whitney dropped a big lump of coal on municipal bond investors' holiday.
Sunday night, on 60 Minutes, the Wall Street analyst -- who warned early and famously in October 2007 that bank stocks would collapse, and soon they did -- blared her warning about the dire financial conditions of the U.S. states. Since her TV turn, Whitney told me this morning, she's been fielding lots of emails and MORE
Patricia Sellers - Dec 21, 2010 11:45 AM ET
by Patricia Sellers
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is getting plenty of practice handling protesters lately. "Stop the loan sharks" read the T-shirts worn by some protesters hovering outside the company's annual meeting this morning.
Dimon assuaged the shareholders--he predicted a rise in the dividend to 30-40% of earnings "later this year or early next year" if U.S. unemployment goes down and credit improves.
The crowd was tougher, potentially, this past Sunday MORE
Patricia Sellers - May 18, 2010 3:09 PM ET
by Patricia Sellers
Want to know what Meredith Whitney really thinks?
Today in the Wall Street Journal, the notoriously bearish bank analyst takes a whack at the government's proposed regulatory reforms. Well-intended reform will likely do more harm than good, she suggests, by driving consumer credit out of the market and putting many community banks out of business.
Whitney has been spreading her wings lately, flying around the U.S. to advise Federal Reserve MORE
Patricia Sellers - May 17, 2010 3:17 PM ET
by Patricia Sellers
It's an important next couple of days for JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
The company reports earnings tomorrow morning.
And on Thursday morning, we'll see how far the $100 billion bank--yes, that's how big, in terms of annual revenues, JPMorgan has grown through the financial crisis--has surged up the Fortune 500.
I know. But I can't tell you. Watch for the Fortune 500's release at 7:30 a.m. Thursday.
So, it's a good moment to MORE
Patricia Sellers - Apr 13, 2010 12:57 PM ET
For the latest on the most influential women in business, philanthropy, government, and the arts, like us on Facebook. 
In a funny and candid interview, Google VP Marissa Mayer explains how she got to the top. Watch
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns shares how she once accepted a job with Dell but ended up staying with Xerox. Watch
Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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Fortune Most Powerful Women
Sheryl Sandberg:
Gina Bianchini
