Lazard was founded by the Lazard brothers in 1848 as a dry goods business in New Orleans. Their initial investment was $9,000. The Lazard brothers then moved their business to San Francisco to cash in on the California Gold Rush. Their business was quite successful, and eventually the dry goods business expanded into banking and foreign money exchange. After opening several offices in Europe, Lazard became an exclusively a finance firm by 1876.

The three “Houses of Lazard” grew independently of each other in London, Paris, and New York. It wasn’t until 2000 that all three branches of Lazard were reunited into a single business. The final merger enabled Lazard to offer its customers a global brand while maintaining their local networks.

In 2002, Bruce Wasserstein was promoted to Head of Lazard, and the private equity firm entered a new era of aggressive growth in its Financial Advisory and Asset Management business. Under Bruce Wasserstein’s leadership, Lazard became one of the world’s preeminent leaders in leveraged buyouts and acquisitions, completing more than 1,000 mergers and other various deals valued in nearly $1 trillion. Lazard is also a high profile advisor in corporate restricting. Since 1999, Lazard has advised companies in transactions worth $300 billion in debt.

Lazard currently specializes in assisting companies in difficult financial challenges. Lazard serves a wide range of clients, including corporations, partnerships, governments, and individual investors. Lazard emphasizes long-term, senior level relationships with its clients, with a special focus on local markets. But with its global presence, Lazard is able to link together international business concerns.

Lazard CEO Bruce Wasserstein joined Lazard in 2001 when the company was going through a difficult time. Bruce Wasserstein instituted a company-wide reform, modernizing and streamlining the venerable private equity firm and eventually preparing the once private company for an IPO. Though his moves were controversial, Bruce Wasserstein succeeded in making Lazard a highly competitive entity once more that was able to weather the economic meltdown of 2008.

After his untimely passing, Wall Street legend Bruce Wasserstein was succeeded by Lazard veteran Kenneth Jacobs.