On Wednesday, Lazard Freres chief Bruce Wasserstein died, leaving questions about the fate of New York magazine. Wasserstein bought the magazine in 2003 for $55 million and an expert suspects he "invested much more money along the way. [If his heirs were to sell, they] would probably want a minimum of $75 million to $100 million." Even though "money-losing media vanity ownership is usually the exclusive preserve of the mature rich, not their progeny," Gawker wonders if his family will be less inclined to sell since they'll get an automatic $188 million payout from Lazard. more ›

The NY Times reports, "Bruce Wasserstein, a Wall Street investment banker who helped pioneer the hostile takeover in the 1980’s and turned the mergers and acquisitions business into a high art, died Wednesday." The 61-year-old, who was #147 on the latest Forbes Richest Americans list, had been in the hospital for an irregular heartbeat. He was the chief executive of Lazard Freres and also owned New York magazine. more ›