Michael Mackenzie Thomas (April 18, 1936 – August 7, 2021) was an American author of nine bestselling novels and a partner at Lehman Brothers. Best known for his financial thrillers, he published his first novel, Green Monday, in 1980. He also published articles in New York Observer, Esquire, The New York Review of Books and The Wall Street Journal.
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Early life and education
Thomas was born in Manhattan on April 18, 1936. His father, Joseph A. Thomas, worked as an investment banker and became the youngest partner of Lehman Brothers at 29 years old, in the same year of Thomas's birth. His mother, Elinor (Bangs) Thomas, was a real estate broker whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. Thomas was raised on the Upper East Side and attended the Buckley School, where he served as an editor of its literary magazine, before graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy. He went on to study art history at Yale University, his father's alma mater. After graduating in 1958, he taught at Yale for a year.
Career
Thomas joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an assistant curator in 1959, responsible for European paintings. Although he intended to become an art dealer, his father disapproved of this. Thomas joined the staff of Lehman Brothers two years later; his father was not consulted on this beforehand, and this soured their relationship. Thomas was made a partner in 1967, and was a board member of 20th Century Fox and the Los Angeles Rams. He became head of mergers and acquisitions in 1971, but ultimately quit Lehman Brothers that same year after feeling "betrayed" by the firm.