Why Did Philip Lehman Refuse Ivar Kruger?

David Senra says Philip Lehman refused to become Ivar Kruger's banker under a hard rule. If he cannot understand something by reading his notes on the subject, he will not buy it.

Kruger was a Swedish engineer who built a global match monopoly, mastered corporate charisma, and then secretly masterminded one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. Episode 348 covered the biography called The Match King, Ivar Kruger, the financial genius behind a century of Wall Street scandals. Kruger came to Lehman Brothers wanting money, and the patriarch of the bank sat in the meeting. They said he had a sixth sense for people.

One day Kruger came in and asked Lehman to be his banker. Kruger talked and talked and talked while Lehman made a few notes on a piece of paper. When Kruger had finished, he sat back and looked at the banker. Philip Lehman shook his head and the answer was no. His words to Kruger were the rule itself. If he cannot understand something by reading his notes on the subject, he will not buy it.