A Taste for Happiness - Paperback

by Patricia Boyer De LaTour (Author), Sandra Smith (Translator), Michel David-Weill (Author)

A man of two countries, Michel David-Weill was born in France. He loves his native country and the United States, where he has spent more than half his life.

As senior partner at Lazard, an international investment firm, he led the firm for twenty-five years and was responsible for reuniting the London, Paris, and New York offices.

Passionate about the arts, David-Weill is a collector and a trustee of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and of the French National Museums.

A Taste for Happiness describes what he has learned about life during his long career.

Author Biography

Born in Paris in 1932, Michel David-Weill had the good fortune to be son of the chairman of the international bank Lazard Frères, and the misfortune to be born a Jew during history's darkest time. But even as a young boy, forced to hide during the Nazi occupation, he had a taste for happiness and was unwilling to settle for anything less. After surviving WWII, he relocated to New York and went on to lead Lazard for twenty-five years.

This is not your typical autobiography of a businessman. While there may be elements you recognize, all the pieces put together create a unique portrait of a singular man who stands as a link between the past and the future, and whose greatest ability is his tenacity in choosing happiness regardless of exterior circumstances. This skill may seem unexceptional in a successful man-doesn't he have every reason to be happy?-but happiness is never merely a result of one's conditions.

A man of two countries, a successful international businessman, an avid art appreciator, a world-renowned philanthropist, and one who knows the true value of happiness, David-Weill reminds readers of his poignant story that it's up to you to live a happy life.