Lebow Turns Over a New Leaf

Miami financier Bennett S. LeBow has always had a wickedly irreverent streak: After a proposed takeover of Prime Computer Inc. fell through in 1989, a dejected LeBow staged a wake for the deal. Dressed in black tie, LeBow and his partner feasted on steak and lobster while their 150 guests ate hot dogs and beer at a New York City restaurant. LeBow, who is Jewish, even brought in a rabbi to say a prayer for the dead deal. For party favors, LeBow handed out lucite blocks containing "Prime" brand condoms.

Since his 1986 acquisition of tiny cigarette manufacturer Liggett Group Inc. for $140 million, LeBow has done his best to spoil the tobacco industry's party as well. A buyout specialist long known for his bottom-fishing, the 63-year-old CEO of Miami-based holding company Vector Group Ltd. (VGR )--formerly Brooke Group Ltd.--has been goading other cigarette makers since he broke ranks with them in the mid-1990s and agreed to settle lawsuits initiated by states seeking to recover the costs of caring for sick smokers. Believing Liggett would be wiped out if it lost in court, he struck a deal: In return for paying $1 million in damages, LeBow admitted that nicotine is addictive and that smoking causes cancer, and turned over revealing industry documents.