/biz/ - Business & Finance

"I started at Bear Stearns in 1976. Bear Stearns never had any training program. There was no course to begin. Alan Greenberg said he wanted me to learn each area of the business. So he thought the best place for me to start would be on the floor of the American Stock Exchange and then later move up to the trading desk and learn all the different areas of the firm including the margin department. He was amazing."

Epstein said it was his ability to comprehend the pricing of options — then the cutting edge of finance — that allowed him to rise swiftly to limited partner. He applied what he called a scientific approach to his trades. Success was heady.