Why Bob Diamond deserves respect — and the cosmic meaning of the Burger King sale

If I say that Bob Diamond richly deserves his promotion to chief executive of Barclays, I do not intend any snide reference to the fact that he is enormously rich.

If I say that Bob Diamond richly deserves his promotion to chief executive of Barclays, I do not intend any snide reference to the fact that he is enormously rich. The giant fortune he has amassed in bonuses during 12 years at the helm of Barclays Capital, the group’s investment banking arm, is held against him by his detractors — among them Business Secretary Vince Cable, who once told me he regarded Diamond as ‘the most grievous example’ of City greed and insensitivity to public feeling. But you don’t have to love Bob to admire him for having built an extremely robust and profitable trading business for Barclays during an era of unprecedented market turmoil. His bargain-priced acquisition of the rump of Lehman Brothers in 2008 turned out to be the deal of the decade, and his division chipped in £3.4 billion of the group’s £4 billion half-year profits last month. He may have been paid a lot more than any employee should ever be paid, but Bob is still entitled to our respect — not least for his stamina. Last time I talked to him, on the phone to New York, I interrupted a rant about the benefits of buying Lehman to ask him how he keeps up the pace: ‘I recall my dad saying about me once that the only time he’d ever heard me say “never” was when I was asked if I’d had enough. I love the challenge, Martin, I love the business.’