Sotheby's vs Christie's | The Unraveling | 3
Business Wars
Audible
4.6 • 13.5K Ratings
🗓️ 28 December 2022
⏱️ 40 minutes
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Summary
It’s 1996 and Christie’s Christopher Davidge is disgruntled he hasn’t personally benefited more from his role in the price-fixing scheme, especially as DeDe Brooks, his Sotheby’s counterpart, thrives.
But when subpoenas are issued by the Department of Justice and a high-profile investigation begins, they are both faced with an impossible choice: cooperate, or risk losing everything they’ve worked for.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to business wars at free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. |
| 0:07.0 | January 1996, Christie's offices, London. |
| 0:21.0 | Christie's chairman, Saranthani Tenet and CEO Christopher Davidsh, are meeting in Tenet's office. |
| 0:27.0 | Despite working together on a plot to fix prices over the last couple of years, |
| 0:32.0 | the two have never been what you'd call friends. |
| 0:36.0 | And today, Davidsh is furious. |
| 0:39.0 | He leans in, his mouth drawn, and a thin, angry line. |
| 0:44.0 | My year-end bonus was pitiful, and then on top of that, you gave me a poor performance review. |
| 0:50.0 | You didn't even have the decency to talk to me about it. |
| 0:53.0 | After everything I did for you last year, Tenet holds firm. |
| 0:58.0 | I know you feel you did a great deal of work, but the fact is, I'm still not happy. |
| 1:04.0 | I have one long-term goal for this company, and that's surpassing Sotheby's. |
| 1:08.0 | And that's where you have failed. |
| 1:10.0 | Look, our costs are rising more than Sotheby's, and yet, Dede Brooks got a bonus that's twice as much as mine. |
| 1:17.0 | Ms. Brooks lives in New York City. It's apples and oranges. But what about how I increased our commission? |
| 1:24.0 | You can't say that's not a significant accomplishment, and accomplishment you and I achieved together. |
| 1:31.0 | Davidsh is growing angrier and angrier. |
| 1:34.0 | Are you willing to recalculate my bonus or not? |
| 1:38.0 | Tenet pulls out a calculator. |
| 1:41.0 | If we take 0.3% of our pre-tax profits, that will give you a bonus of $111,000. |
| 1:50.0 | Will that be satisfactory? |
| 1:52.0 | It's still less than Brooks. Christopher. |
... |
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