Gary Stevenson's greatest insight about being in banking
Gary Stevenson was once in banking. He was a short term interest rate trader at Citigroup and in his own estimation was "the best fucking trader in the world" during that time. This claim is heavily disputed by those who worked with him, but Stevenson has used his self-endorsed expertise and big bonuses from that period to fund a new career as an anti-inequality campaigner on YouTube, where his channel has 1.6m subscribers.
Gary's message is simple: inequality is ruining the UK. Gary's remedy is simple: a 2% wealth tax on assets above £10m. Gary is undeniably impressive: a self made man from Ilford who once worked at DFS furniture retailer, he now claims to be among the "super rich." Having retired aged 27, Gary says he makes more trading his own money than he did at Citi.
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This week Gary escaped YouTube and took his message to Channel Four. It has not been universally well-received.
The Telegraph, predictably, is not a fan. It says that Gary "has no interest in engaging seriously with debate, nor does he wish to interrogate his own beliefs." He has simply decided he is right and wants everyone else to fall into line.
The FT says Gary is "impassioned and earnest" but that he mostly engaged in debates with people who didn't buy his arguments (although maybe this was his point, and demonstrated the intractability of his adversaries).
Most damningly, the Guardian says Gary's Channel Four documentary was an "embarrassment" because Gary is too pugnacious. Aged 39, the Guardian says Gary suffers from "an adolescent bullishness" which is off-putting. Maybe this doesn't matter either; it illustrates Gary's distance from the chattering classes.
For people in banking, Gary Stevenson is someone who should not be ignored. His inequality message is alluringly simple. His proposed cure involves no pain for the people he's preaching it to. Gary wants to go into politics. He is likely to gather steam, irrespective of what the media classes say.
Gary's biggest message for bankers, though, has nothing to do with his wealth tax. It is about playing everything by the book while you're working in the industry.
Gary says he was only able to leave Citi with his deferred bonuses intact because while he worked for the bank, he did absolutely nothing wrong. When he took months and months off on sick leave because of his mental health, Stevenson says the bank was unable to fire him for misconduct because there was nothing nefarious in its records on him. He hadn't sent any dubious Bloomberg messages. He hadn't sent any dubious emails. He hadn't taken any illicit substances. When Gary also refused to do any work and simply wanted to leave, he says his previous clean-living finally enabled him to walk away and to retain his all stock bonuses.
It's not clear whether Citi has the same opinion of Gary's departure, but if you work in financial services, it's a perspective that's worth considering. Even if you're not the best trader in the world, banks will want to keep you if you're good. When you're negotiating an exit, they will likely use whatever leverage you give them. So don't.
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