Published: February 1, 2000

White Knight

Arnie Kamen was always a kid in a hurry. A Roosevelt classmate of Manny’s and the son of a liquor wholesaler, he grew up in a cold-water flat in Albany Park. By the time he was 30, he had started a business on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Trading was an ideal occupation for this bright and energetic young man, nimble with numbers and quick to figure odds. He swapped butter and egg futures, even though he didn’t know much about butter or eggs. “Who needs to know the products?” he argues. “You have guys trading soybeans, most of them have never even seen a soybean.” Eventually, Arnie owned seats on five exchanges, operating offices in 12 cities. As his wealth grew, he bought a big house in the suburbs, traveled the world, put his kids through college, got divorced, remarried, had two more children by his second wife, sold his seats, and settled into a...