Lewis Thompson Preston (August 5, 1926 – May 4, 1995) was an American banker. He was

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of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

from September 1991 until his death in May 1995.

Life and career

Born New York City, Preston was the son of Lewis T. and Priscilla Baldwin Preston. His father was a World War I flier and a well-known hunter. His grandfather was a partner in

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

. Part of his youth was spent living in Paris. He served in the

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

during World War II in the Pacific and as an aide to Navy Secretary

James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet (government), cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-cla ...

who was a friend of his mother. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a degree in history in 1951, and was at one point during his education the captain of Harvard's hockey team. He was chosen for the

United States men's national ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team represents the United States in men's international ice hockey. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ...

, but never ended up competing in the Olympics. Preston worked at J.P. Morgan & Co. and its subsidiary

Morgan Guaranty Trust Company J.P. Morgan & Co. is an American financial institution specialized in investment banking, asset management and private banking founded by financier J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidi ...

for forty years. His first major contribution to the company was in the mid-1960s when he convinced the company to use trade in the newly formed Eurodollar market as source of liquidity; a move which greatly improved the prosperity of the company. In 1968 he was appointed vice president in charge of international banking, and under his tenure over half of the company's earnings came from the international banking sector in the 1970s. After eight years in that position he became vice chairman of the board of directors in 1976, and then president of the board in 1978. In 1980 Preston was appointed

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of J.P. Morgan & Co. He helped the company weather the storm of

Silver Thursday Silver Thursday was an event that occurred in the United States silver commodity markets on Thursday, March 27, 1980, following the attempt by brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt, William Herbert Hunt and Lamar Hunt (collectively known as the Hunt Br ...

in 1980 which had a wide negative impact on the banking industry. In 1984 he assisted in the bailout of

Continental Illinois The Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company was an American bank established in 1910, which was at its peak the seventh-largest commercial bank in the United States as measured by deposits, with approximately $40 billion in assets. ...

when it was seized by the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

. He retired as CEO in February 1991. From September 1991 until his death in Washington D.C. on May 4, 1995, he was

of the

Personal life

He was the second husband of

Patsy Pulitzer Gladys "Patsy" Pulitzer Preston (May 31, 1928 – October 28, 2011) was an American fashion model, socialite and philanthropist. The granddaughter of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, founder of the Pulitzer Prize, she grew up in Palm Beach, ...

References

External links

Biography of Lewis Thompson Preston (website)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Lewis Thompson 1926 births 1995 deaths 1990s in economic history 20th-century American businesspeople American bankers Harvard University alumni Businesspeople from New York City Presidents of the World Bank Group American chief executives of financial services companies JPMorgan Chase people