The Man Behind The Mess At First Capital
This article is for subscribers only.
The swift decline of California insurer First Capital Holdings Corp. to the brink of bankruptcy has created a throng of losers. Stockholders, notably Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc., which owned a 28% stake and has taken a $144 million pretax writeoff, face a total wipeout. Bondholders and lenders, notably Citibank, on the line for much of a $275 million loan, may not do much better. Policyholders, say regulators, are likely to recoup most if not all of their money but may have to wait awhile.
Remarkably, one person escaped with little financial damage--Robert I. Weingarten, the very man who founded the company and then loaded it up with