Financial Follies Memories: A Look Back at the Laughter

This year marked the 80th Financial Follies! The subjects we poked fun at for this year’s show include Samuel Bankman-Fried, Elon Musk and ChatGPT, among others.

The 79th Financial Follies marked an in-person gathering and a new venue. From cash flow and cryptocurrency, to a look at how effective business report may or may not be in educating the general public about some of the biggest financial happenings of the day, the show did not disappoint!

In the 78 years since the Financial Follies first began the show has gone on every year, with the exception of World War II. So, we weren’t about to let a global pandemic stop us!

Once again, there was no shortage of material for Financial Follies. So, the close to 1,000 attendees of this year’s show were entertained with numbers touching on everything from quantitative easing, to the mass exodus of board members, regulatory fines and some of the bizarre happenings of the Trump administration’s first year in office.

From ongoing speculation about when the Fed will finally raise interest rates, to Brexit and the U.S. presidential race, there was no shortage of material for the 2016 Financial Follies. So, not surprisingly, the more than 1,000 attendees of this year’s show were entertained with numbers touching on al of these topics, among others. And with the event taking place only three days after the presidential election, what better way for members of the liberal, biased media to celebrate the end of the campaigns than with an event poking fun at them?

While the 2015 Financial Follies brought a new venue and was held a week earlier than previous Follies, one thing that stayed the same was the fun the more than 1,200 attendees had networking over drinks, dinner, and still more drinks. This year’s show featured spoofs of everything from the insane campaign antics of Donald Trump, to the Fed’s oh-so-long awaited interest rate hike and even a jab at the long hours and low wages or journalists. Or check out Talking Biz News’ coverage of this year’s event here

We shall overcomb: The 2015 Financial Follies

For 71 years, reporters, editors, PR and industry execs have followed the New York Financial Writers Association’s tradition of satirizing the past year’s biggest stories, schmoozing about countless other narratives and networking all night. This year’s event drew more than 1,100 revelers to the Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis, and Vapor Corp.’s after-party in the hotel’s duplex penthouse evoked memories of a similarly swinging soiree in the late 1980’s sponsored by Phillip Morris. This time, though, there were a few leather-clad hostesses and plenty of smokeless electronic cigars, cigarettes, and hookah sticks to go around. As for the show, the 2013 Follies targeted: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos; municipal bankruptcies; fracking; Senator Ted Cruz; Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and disgraced hedge fund SAC Capital. Between musical numbers, retired New York Times business writer and former NYFWA president Len Sloane was honored for his 50 years in the cast of the Follies, which included a poignant video of his many performances. Video components of the show were made possible by Al Jazeera America, CNN, CNNMoney.com, Fox Business News, TheStreet.com, and Thomson Reuters. Particularly memorable: Simon Constable’s acerbic riffs on how the economy still sucks and follies flow freely, and Debra Borchardt’s cleverly crafted “Breaking Bad News”. Kudos to: Follies director Laura Josepher, musical director Jill Brunelle; book and lyrics chair Bill Egbert (with ample wit from Peter Coy, Josh Friedlander, Peter Phelan, Larry Carrel, and Sheila Mullan); video co-chairs Peter Phelan and Myron Kandel (with Steve Gelsi); and NYFWA executive manager Britt Erica Tunick. Coverage of the 2013 Follies by O’Dwyers

http://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/1504/2013-11-25/nyfwas-financial-follies-entertains-1000.html

Considering the fragile global economy, Mideast turmoil, and political divisiveness, it’s no wonder the Financial Follies has reputedly held the record for the largest bar bill at the Marriott Marquis. While audited statements were not available at press time, more than 900 journalists, PR pros, and corporate executives made the New York Financial Writers Association’s 70th annual Follies another memorable soiree. This year’s targets: Goldman Sachs (to the tune of The Muppett Show Theme Song) Washington gridlock; the bungled Facebook IPO; Mitt Romney wailing about the election to the tune of “Sandy”; sex-crazed book publishers; and giant banks like JPMorgan Chase, whose CEO Jamie Dimon inspired a parody of “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend.” Hats off to producer Pierre Paulden; director Laura Josepher; musical director Jill Brunelle; the book and lyrics committee; the video team; and of course NYFWA executive manager Jane Reilly. Special thanks to CNN, CNNMoney.com, News Hub/Wall Street Journal Digital Network, and The Street for all the work that went into the video component of the show.

With the worst economic malaise since the Great Depression entering its fifth year, 1,000 journalists, PR pros, and corporate executives occupied Broadway for a liquidity-driven stimulus program better known as the Financial Follies. This year’s targets: rampant market volatility; crushing debt burdens; the News of the World hacking scandal; the caricaturish 2012 Presidential campaign; Internet IPOs and social networking; the Euro crisis; and the Fed’s quantitative easing. Special thanks to producer Rich Wilner; director Laura Josepher; musical director Jill Brunelle; the book and lyrics committee (Josh Friedlander and Imogen Rose-Smith, co chairs; Peter Coy, Mark Fogarty, and Pierre Paulden) ; the video team (Myron Kandel, Peter Phelan, Simon Constable, Steve Gelsi, and Jake Novak); and last but by no means least, New York Financial Writers Association Executive Manager Jane Reilly.

No matter how much things change, one constant is the Friday before Thanksgiving when the financial press and its many sources gather to celebrate the year’s headlines in song and dance. This year’s Financial Follies drew more than 1,100 partiers to the sold-out Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis, fulfilling its long tradition as the solid rocket booster of the holiday season. Kudos to producer Imogen Rose-Smith, who also spearheaded the book and lyrics with co-chair Josh Friedlander; Myron Kandel and Peter Phelan on videos; director Laura Josepher; musical director Jill Brunelle; and of course NYFWA executive manager Jane Reilly, the linchpin of this gala event. Among those celebrated on stage were Goldman Sachs (“Bad Finance,” ala Lady Gaga), BP (“Never, Never Slick at Sea,” from Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore), unfunded pensions (Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever”) and the economies of Japan (“It’s Raining Yen”) and the U.S. (“Don’t Stop Deceiving”). CNN, Fortune, and the News Hub/Wall Street Journal Digital Network contributed videos. Weber Shandwick and Blumberg Capital Investments hosted after-parties where Follies attendees continued the party long into the night. Click here for a complete wrap-up in pictures. Wall Street Journal article – November 21, 2010 CNBC.com Photos from the Blumberg Capital Partners After-Party

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703567304575628853028290566.html?KEYWORDS=Follies
http://www.cnbc.com/id/40317465

More than 1,000 journalists, communicators, and corporate executives gathered in the Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square to lampoon major newsmakers at the 67th Financial Follies on November 20, 2009. Considered by many to be the financial media’s premier event, the Follies took aim at Ponzi King Bernie Madoff and his sexual shortcomings (as previewed by the New York Post in September); California’s disastrous finances; Detroit automakers; Goldman Sachs; and the beleaguered Federal Reserve Bank. Other highlights of the evening included videos produced by CNBC, CNN, Forbes, Fox Business News and News Hub/Wall Street Journal Digital Network. The revelers partied late into the night, and like the Governator in “California Bills”, left promising, “I’ll be back.” Click here for photos by NYFWA board member Steve Govoni. Talking News Biz

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/on/financial_follies_08_wherein_the_crisis_sounds_better_put_to_music_101641.asp