It?s true what they say, you know. The view really is better from the top.
And Raymond “Chip” Mason should know. As chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Legg Mason Inc., Mason?s 35th-floor office in the tower that bears his company?s name sits above everyone else in downtown Baltimore. On a clear day, he truly can see forever.
His view of success is similar.
“Focus on whatever you do,” said Mason, whose global asset management firm was ranked by Pension & Investments newspaper as 2006?s fifth largest asset manager in the world based on worldwide assets under management on Dec. 31, 2005.
In 2005, Legg Mason traded its brokerage unit for the money management division of Citigroup Inc. in a $3.7 billion transaction. As part of the deal, Mason agreed to stay with the company for two years.
Financial analysts say Mason is well worth the millions he earns annually.
“Mason pulled down more than $14 million in compensation during fiscal 2006, not counting the $500,000 options he received that year, worth a cool $21.2 million,” Morningstar analyst Jeffrey Ptak said in a report on the company earlier this month. “But Mason has arguably earned an oversize paycheck with his excellent stewardship of Legg Mason over the years, and the recent Citigroup deal adds another feather to his cap.”
Mason credits his success to “happenstance” achieved by working at least 12 hours a day during the workweek and five to 10 hours a day on the weekends. Each night, he said, he spends an hour alone doing what he loves best ? working.
Mason has a basic instinct for numbers, and his experience has proved him correct. When he runs numbers, he doesn?t use a megacomputer loaded with the latest financial software. He reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out a calculator.
“It takes a little longer, but I have the advantage of spotting wrong numbers,” Mason said.
Mason comes from a financial family. He went to work for his uncle the Monday after he graduated from the College of William & Mary in Virginia and then founded Mason and Co. Inc. in 1962.
Raymond “Chip” Mason
» First job: Newspaper delivery boy
» Education/credentials: College of William & Mary, economics
» Favorite gadget: Declined to answer, though he carried a calculator in his shirt pocket.
» Hometown: Lynchburg, Va.; grew up in Bethlehem, Pa.
In 1970, Mason merged with Legg and Co. to form Legg Mason & Co. Inc.
When asked for his insider recommendation to financial health, Mason said quickly, “People need to figure out some method to fund retirement.”
“That the government will do it is a myth,” he said, “and there?s not enough money for the government to do it.”
