Richard Parsons Biography

(Former Chairman of Citigroup)

Birthday: April 4, 1948 (Aries)

Born In: New York, New York, United States

The number of people who have worn the hats of businessman, political powerbroker, lawyer, and an authoritative voice on policies of the government with as much ease as American corporate icon Richard Parsons is very few. Although it is true that he trained as a lawyer and became famous after faring particularly well in the New York bar exam; he did not pursue a career in law beyond a point and instead decided to work with President Gerald Ford. It was his stint with the President Gerald Ford that provided him a glimpse of the dynamics of the powerful elite in the United States and no doubt shaped the way in which he conducted himself during the rest of his career as one of the corporate czars of the country. He held the top jobs at some of the biggest global corporations in the world and is a respected business leader all across the world. Parsons had a glittering career at the many corporations he worked for and led those giants with distinction during his tenure; however on the other side of the spectrum he has also worked as a key policy maker for US presidents which is why he is regarded as one of the leading lights of corporate America in every way.
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Quick Facts

Also Known As: Richard Dean Parsons, Dick Parsons

Age: 76 Years, 76 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Laura Bush Parsons

children: Gregory Allen Parsons

CEOs Bankers

Height: 6'4" (193 cm), 6'4" Males

Notable Alumni: University Of Hawaii, Manoa

U.S. State: New Yorkers

More Facts

education: University of Hawaii, Manoa, Albany Law School

awards: The BET Honors Award for Corporate Citizen

Childhood & Early Life
Richard Dean Parsons was born to Lorenzo Locklair Parsons and Isabelle Parsons on April 4, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York. His father worked in New York as an electrician while her mother was a house wife. The coupled had five children.
Parsons was known to be a very bright student and in fact he was allowed to skip grades in high school as well as in elementary school. He went on to study at the University of Hawaii and earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1968 at the age of 20.
Richard Parsons joined the Albany Law School at Union University and became a lawyer in the year 1971. In fact, he got the highest marks in his class and followed that up by standing first in the New York bar exam as well.
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Career
Instead of joining a law firm or starting his own practice, Parsons instead joined the legal team of the then New York governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1971 and continued to work for the latter’s office till Rockefeller was appointed the vice president three years later.
In 1974, Parsons moved to Washington DC and worked with the then President of the United States of America Gerald Ford. During his tenure at the White House he made plenty of connections that would serve him well later on in life.
It was in 1977 that Richard Parsons finally made a foray into a serious legal career when he joined the law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler based in New York. He went on to become one of the managing partners at the firm by the time he left after eleven years.
In 1988, Richard Parsons was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer at the Saving Bank of New York; who also happened to be his clients during his days as a partner at the law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler.
The Savings Bank of New York wasn’t in great financial health when Parsons became its Chief Operating Officer; however once he became the CEO in 1991, he changed the fortunes of the bank and made it a profitable one. Four years later, the bank was merged with Anchor Savings Bank and was named Dime Bancorp.
In 1995, Parsons became the president of Time Warner and led the company through a difficult period; as a result he was rewarded with the post of CEO in 2002 when the company was rechristened AOL-Time Warner following a merger. He left AOL-Time Warner in 2008.
Parsons was always in touch with Republican politics even though he was a busy executive serving on as board member of corporations such as Estee Lauder and Citigroup. George W. Bush made him the co-chairman of President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security, in 2001. In 2008, the then President-elect Barrack Obama appointed him as his economic adviser.
The Citigroup appointed Richard Parsons as their chairman in the year 2009 and considering the fact that the bank was struggling at the time following the financial meltdown, it was one of his toughest roles. He stabilised the bank and stepped down as chairman in 2012.
Major Works
There is absolutely no doubt that Richard Parsons has done some staggering work throughout his corporate career including such mind numbing deals like the AOL-Time Warner merger that was valued at $165 billion but his most important work was that of steadying a huge bank like Citi after the bank had lost billions of dollars during the subprime mortgage crisis.
Personal Life & Legacy
Parsons got married to Laura Ann Bush in 1968. The couple has three children; two sons named Gregory and Leslie, and a daughter named Rebecca.
Parsons had an affair with African model Macdella Cooper and they had a child in 2009.

See the events in life of Richard Parsons in Chronological Order

How To Cite

Article Title
- Richard Parsons Biography
Author
- Editors, TheFamousPeople.com
Website
- TheFamousPeople.com
URL
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/richard-parsons-6666.php

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