Robert Agostinelli - Misplaced Pages

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Robert F. Agostinelli
Born	(1953-05-21) May 21, 1953 (age 71) Rochester, New York, USA
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University (M.B.A.)
Occupation(s)	Businessman Investor Co-founder, Chairman of Rhône Group
Known for	Rhône Group Friends of Israel Initiative Former Vice-Chairman of the Council of the United States & Italy
Political party	Republican
Children	4
Website	www.RhoneGroup.com

Robert Frank Agostinelli (born May 21, 1953) is an Italian American self-made financier who manages an investment fund of "about a billion", as the chairman and co-founder of private equity firm Rhône Group, which has a current annual turnover of £4.85 million and £1.76 million post-tax annual profit. Agostinelli is a noted client of the Bell Pottinger Group

Early life and education

Agostinelli was born to Italian immigrant parents outside of Rochester, New York and attended the Aquinas Institute in suburban Rochester. He went on to obtain his BA from St. John Fisher College in 1976 and then attended Columbia University where he received his MBA and graduated in 1981. Agostinelli is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Career

Agostinelli began his career in financial services at the Investment Bank Jacob Rothschild from 1981–1982 and then joined Goldman Sachs and became a senior partner where he worked for five years and founded the firm's international mergers and acquisitions business in London and was involved in a number of the largest transactions in European takeover history. Agostinelli left for Lazard Frères to become a senior partner in New York from 1987 until leaving in 1995. After which point, Agostinelli together with fellow partner Steven Langman then went on to start their own firm, the Rhône Group where he continues to work today.

Politics and philanthropy

Agostinelli is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a major supporter of Zionist and neoconservative causes. He is one of the Founding Members of the Friends of Israel Initiative (FII). He is former Vice-Chairman of the Council of the United States and Italy as well as a member of the Investment Committee of Corporate World Opportunities of BSI Group / Generali Group; and a director and advisor to a number of European and U.S. philanthropic and civic institutions. In 2008 Agostinelli provided substantial funding to the Presidential Campaigns of John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

Under pressure from the French media, president Nicolas Sarkozy admitted to Le Monde in 2007 that Agostinelli had paid the $60k per week fee on a luxury villa for him and his family during his controversial 2006 holiday to the United States. Agostinelli was once seen jogging with Sarkozy. He is also a senior member of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation led by The American Patriots Campaign Cabinet. He is a Senior Board Director on the American Italian Cancer Foundation. Agostinelli is known for regularly writing articles in the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times on various controversial political, economic and social issues. In addition to supporting The American Jewish Committee Magazine and on the board of directors of The National Review. In August 2011 The National Review reported that Agostinelli gave a speech at the U.S Naval War College where he was later interviewed by The Washington Times.

Agostinelli was listed in 1997 by Bilderberg.org as a member of the Bilderberg Group. He is listed as a member of The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)..

Friends of Israel Initiative

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David Trimble, José Maria Aznar, President Shimon Peres, John R. Bolton and Robert Agostinelli in July 2011

Agostinelli along with his delegation of senior leaders from the Friends of Israel Initiative met with President Shimon Peres at Beit HaNassi in Jerusalem in July 2011. The delegation included former Spanish Prime Minister José Aznar, former US Ambassador to the United Nations John R. Bolton, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lord David Trimble. The President held a working meeting with the group and presented an overview of the situation in Israel and the region at large. Agostinelli stated;

Israel is a fundamentally important part of the Western world. It is a democracy under fire, and we must be resolute in defense of its legitimacy.

The Last Tycoon

In William D. Cohan's best selling book "The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co., Agostinelli is described as:

suave, sophisticated, energetic international financier with extravagant tastes and slicked-back jet-black hair, who pretended to speak Italian but could not.

Cohan mentions how Agostinelli played a pivotal role in building Lazard, for the most part Agostinelli is critiqued.

In Chapter 14, entitled It's A White Man's World Agostinelli is further portrayed;

flamboyant Agostinelli, who had taken to having a gourmet chef prepare his meals for his overseas first-class flights and having Frette sheets FedExed to his hotel rooms in advance of his arrival. - His American Express bills were said to be on the order of $200,000 a month.

Naval War College Foundation

In 2011 Robert Agostinelli gave a speech at the Mahan Reading Room on U.S national security as a result of the policy decisions taken in reaction to the 2008 financial crisis, Agostinelli shared his insights and views with senior officers and Foundation trustees and members. He argued that since the meltdown, the U.S and global financial sectors remain more fragile. Explaining that while the initial reactions by U.S policy makers may have temporarily stabilized the liquidity crunch, the decisions to pick “winners and losers” and to not allow companies to go bankrupt may have negative long term implications. Chief amongst these could be a massive drag on future U.S economic growth - resulting in some unprecedented intrusion into our freedoms.

Regarding China, Agostinelli argued that the U.S simply could not afford to support the current level of deficit spending and that unless policymakers face this head on, the US will continue to give China greater sway over its affairs - China Investment Corporation (CIC) controls hundreds of billions of US dollars, most from buying US debt, and while there is currently a mutual interdependence between China and the U.S, this could change over time. U.S policymakers must therefore be prepared for possible national security repercussions. During the Q & A session Agostinelli answered the final question, which was written about in the Washington Times and The National Review the following day: “What keeps you awake at night?” His answer; “Debt out of control; entitlement spending out of control; and loss of economic freedom and opportunity”.

Controversy

In July 2006 one of Agostinelli’s young Rhone Group associates named Colin Hall was in Les Caves du Roy night club in Saint-Tropez, France when he was attacked by a man named John Washington. Hall was left in a coma but miraculously awoke one week later, while a nationwide manhunt was underway for Washington. In a press release Washington’s lawyer stated that he was being prosecuted unfairly because of direct pressure applied by Agostinelli due to his close relationship to French president Nicolas Sarkozy. An immediate international arrest warrant was put into motion, when fugitive Washington was tracked down he was extradited back to France from the U.S and sentenced to 5 years in prison and to pay £50,000. In a phone message Washington's lawyer played in court, Agostinelli says;

John, I want you to remember my name because you are going to remember it all your life!... the hunting dogs are after you...they will transform your life into a puff of smoke!

Personal

Agostinelli lives in Manhattan, New York and maintains additional homes in London and Paris. He is divorced and has had 5 children; Giovanni, Massimo, Stefano, Heloise and Carlo. He counts Nicolas Sarkozy, George W. Bush and José María Aznar as close friends. He collects wine and art.