What’s the real return on a life spent chasing money?
FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY:
FOUR DIZZYING DECADES
RIDING THE MERRILY LYNCH BULL
Spanning 1983 – 2017, arguable the most disruptive four decades in Wall Street History, For the Love of Money is James Rooney’s firs-hand account of a career that begin in a toxic West Palm Beach penny stock boiler room and climbed onto Merrily Lynch’s “thundering herd” just in time to catch the greatest money-making opportunity in bond market history.
As the Information Age transformed his trade from commission-based brokerage to fee-based financial advisory, Rooney had a front-row seat to the congressional and C-suite failures behind the Savings & Loan Criss, the “new paradigm” boom whose wealth creation rivaled only the Roaring Twenties, and the back-to-back crashes that followed.
By turns cynical, humorous and unsparing, Rooney’s story is shaped by the angles and heroes who supported Rooney along the way, and by the wisdom of ancient and modern sages whose lessons reach beyond financial success toward meaning and lasting happiness.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
—1 Timothy 6:10, King James Bible
- Coming this September 9 -
What The Readers Have To Say
The author's energy and biting humor caught me from the start of this story about his lifelong relationship with money. Moving briskly from a young man's sports-oriented world shattered by injury at 19, facing
life in a wheelchair, he learns to battle his limitations and fears while gradually ascending in the rapidly
transforming, highly competitive financial advisory business.
For the Love of Money is an important tale about the often-times ravenous pursuit of money and power across the economic landscape, including the far-reaching blunders and misbehaviors of Wall
Street and DC's ruling classes which nearly caused our nation's second Great Depression. Amidst the turmoil, we hear the refreshing perspective of a player down on the muddy field, rather than the owner's
luxury suite or the journalist's pool, making the tone gritty and pulsing with cynicism.
By the end, not only are we more financially educated, but we've been taken on an exhilarating literary and spiritual journey with a series of valuable lessons on the subject of attaining life's holy grail—a sustainable sense of meaning and happiness, no matter our circumstances.
—Steve Wright, former NFL tackle & author, and Lizzy Wright, author of three books including the upcoming novel Saffron Spy, based loosely on her time in intelligence tracking Osama Bin Laden in the early 2000s.
What The Readers Have To Say
James Patrick Rooney's For the Love of Money is a clever and insightful page turner about his time in the finance industry as a money manager. It covers a period of intense and rapid transitions (1983-2017). He overcame personal tragedy to achieve great success for his clients, marshalling them through recession and bull markets alike. What stands out is his humor and grace. His anecdotes made me laugh and drew me in. While he started in the penny stock boiler room segment, he was no Wolf of Wall Street. He moved to Merrill Lynch and became a truly professional money manager. I give this book my hearty endorsement!
— Richard Doyle, successful entrepreneur and investor, Boston, Ma.
What The Readers Have To Say
James Patrick Rooney's For the Love of Money is an absorbing read. Filled with humorous asides and Rooney's pitch-perfect trademark soundtrack, this memoir rolls through the major economic events of the
past fifty years. If you like Andrew Sorkin and Michael Lewis, you will love this book, as it captures turn-of-the-century financial history from a unique perspective and in a compelling voice. But this book is
more than that—it is an inspirational story of an individual who has fought through incredible adversity and can offer invaluable wisdom. This is a story for each and every one of us in the game of life.
—Taylor Hagood, author of Theodore Pratt: A Florida Writer's Life and Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend
What The Readers Have To Say
I just finished reading this wonderful book, and I absolutely love it! I was completely absorbed—read it all today, couldn't put it down. … It was all intensely interesting to me. … But even more absorbing [than the Wall Street history] is your own story—your candid admission of the emotions of all kinds you have dealt with were powerful. Those emails/letters from your dad . . . those really hit me emotionally. I'm right with you about all that business about abundance and how to think about that. … the lessons of your story, the fighting through everything and hanging in there and all of it—it all lands perfectly, and I am very grateful for the take-aways, grateful that you are sharing this story. Love the humor, love the songs, love the quotes (especially from the Bond books, of which I'm a big fan). Just a really fine book, Jim.
—Taylor Hagood, author of Theodore Pratt: A Florida Writer's Life and Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend
What The Readers Have To Say
For the Love of Money, is a blow-by-blow tale of the best qualities of the human spirit - - passion, purpose, and perseverance. James Patrick Rooney has written a story of triumph in spite of countless obstacles being thrown his way. Can you imagine losing the use of your right eye in a childhood accident, yet going on to become an outstanding ice hockey player? How about the 19-year-old hockey player suffering a spinal cord injury costing him the use of the lower half of his body for the remainder of his life? Most of us would give up, wave the white flag. Not Jim, he chose to keep fighting. As he says in the book, he chose "the Vaseline smear and the ring over the white towel and the ropes."
In my role as Merrill Lynch's Southeast region tax and estate planning specialist, I witnessed up close his challenges and triumphs, every peak and valley, and through it all, no one focused more on his clients' well-being than Jim. His integrity, quest for excellence, and resilience in the face of adversity are rare qualities, inspirational and heroic, I would say. I feel fortunate to call him a friend.
As an enthusiastic reader of books across several genres, I’m no easy critic, regardless of my feelings toward the author. I can genuinely say that For the Love of Money kept me thoroughly engaged, a true page-turner with an important story of a transformative time on Wall Street that we should never forget. As Mark Twain once said, "history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes."
—Charles D. Banker, JD, CPA, Merrill Lynch Southeast region Tax and Estate Planning Specialist (retired)
For the Love of Money Playlist
Thank you and please enjoy!
[1] – “Eight Days a Week” (The Beatles, Beatles For Sale, 1964)
2) “Revolution” (The Beatles, White Album, 1968)
3) “Beautiful Boy” (John Lennon, Double Fantasy, 1980)
4) “The Circle Game” (Joni Mitchell, Ladies of the Canyon, 1970)
5) “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” (Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell, 1977)
6) “I Started A Joke” (Bee Gees, Idea, 1968)7) “Damned for All Time/Blood Money” (Jesus Christ Superstar Broadway soundtrack,
1971)8) “Another One Bites the Dust” (Queen, The Game, 1980)
9) “Over the Rainbow” (Eva Cassidy, Songbird, 1998)
10) “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, United, 1967)
11) “Pink Cadillac” (Bruce Springsteen, Dancing in the Dark B-side, 1984)
12) ‘Back on the Chain Gang” (The Pretenders, Back on the Chain Gang, 1982)13) “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” (Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, 1962)
14) “Remember Me” (Willie Nelson, Remember Me, 2011)15) “All-Time High” (Octopussy, Rita Coolidge, 1983)
16) “Pure Imagination” (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, written by Leslie
Bricusse and Anthony Newley, sung by Gene Wilder, 1971)
17) “Glendale Train” (New Riders of the Purple Sage, recorded live in 1971, released on
Let Them Eat Vinyl in 2013)18) Mighty Mouse theme song (written by Marshall Barer, 1940s-’50s)
19) “Resilient Bastard” (Shellshag, 2010)20) The Jefferson’s theme song, “Movin’ On Up” (written and performed by Ja’Net
DuBois, 1975)
21) “Just My Imagination” (The Temptations, Sky’s the Limit, 1971)22) “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (Bob Dylan, 1964)
23) “A Pirate Looks at 40” (Jimmy Buffett, The Record Plant, 1974)
24) “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” (written and performed by Rev. Gary Davis in 1960,
Harlem Street Singer, later covered by the Grateful Dead)
25) “Henry” (New Riders of the Purple Sage, 1970)
26) “And the Money Kept Rolling In” (Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim
Rice, original cast recording, 1979)24) “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” (written and performed by Rev. Gary Davis in 1960,
Harlem Street Singer, later covered by the Grateful Dead)
25) “Henry” (New Riders of the Purple Sage, 1970)
26) “And the Money Kept Rolling In” (Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim
Rice, original cast recording, 1979)28) “Do You Hear the People Sing?” (Les Misérables, 1980)
29) “Watching the River Run” (Loggins and Messina, Full Sail, 1973)30) “Hit the Road Jack” (Ray Charles, Unforgettable Hits! 1960)
31) “Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks, 1975)32) “Celebration” (Kool & The Gang, Celebrate! 1980)
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33) “Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead” (composed by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg,
The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
34) “Danny Boy” (poem by English lyricist, Frederic Weatherly, set to Irish folk tune
Londonderry Air, 1913)35) Mighty Mouse theme song (written by Marshall Barer, 1940s-’50s)
36) “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen, Various Positions, 1984)
37) “American Tune” (Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, 1973)38) “1865 (96 Degrees in the Shade)” (Third World, Island Records,1977)
39) “Piece of my Heart” (Janis Joplin, Cheap Thrills, 1968)40) “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (Monty Python’s Life of Brian, 1979)
41) “Everything Old Is New Again” (Peter Allen, All That Jazz, 1974)
42) “The Galway Girl” (Steve Earle, Transcendental Blues, 2000)
43) “Song for Ireland” (Mary Black, Collected, 1984)44) “Take it Easy” (Eagles, Eagles, 1972)
45) “Hey Tomorrow” (Jim Croce, You Don’t Mess Around with Jim, 1972)