The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 232-year-old society which routinely honors scientists, writers and scholars, has chosen to honor the banker who created the first “too big to fail” institution that helped cripple the U.S. economy less than four years ago.

 

Sanford “Sandy” Weill, once the chairman of Citigroup, has been elected a fellow of the academy for his contributions to banking and philanthropy.

 

During the late 1990s, Weill was instrumental in convincing President Bill Clinton and leaders of both major parties to support legislation revoking the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era law that kept commercial and investment banks separate. With the elimination of this restriction on banking, Weill’s Citibank was able to merge with Travelers and create one of the first mega-banks.

 

As Robert Scheer wrote for Truthdig: “Citigroup went on to be a major purveyor of toxic mortgage-based securities that required $45 billion in direct government investment and a $300 billion guarantee of its bad assets in order to avoid bankruptcy.”

 

The dismantling of Glass-Steagall was a major factor in creating the financial crisis that jolted the nation just nine years later. Nevertheless, Weill was so proud of his role that he kept a plaque in his office that read “Shatterer of Glass-Steagall.”

 

In becoming a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Weill joins an illustrious group of individuals that includes George Washington, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein, not to mention Bill Clinton, Warren Buffett, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan and B.B.King.

 

In addition to Weill, this year’s honorees included Hillary Clinton, Melinda Gates, Clint Eastwood and Mel Brooks.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

For He’s a Jolly Good Scoundrel (by Robert Scheer, Truthdig)

Sanford I. Weill and Dr. Joseph J. Fins Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences (NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College)

Citi’s Creator, Alone With His Regrets (by Katrina Brooker, New York Times)