How I Got That $1 Million Story

A young reporter cashes in on tales of shenanigans in the suites

When he joined the Wall Street Journal in 1983, reporter Bryan Burrough could barely tell a buyout from a bailout. But Burrough, 29, co-author of the best seller Barbarians at the Gate, has become a formidable chronicler of Roaring Eighties-style shenanigans and greed. In a deal befitting a literary superstar, publisher HarperCollins last month agreed to pay Burrough $1 million for a book on American Express and the smear campaign it waged in the 1980s against international banker Edmond Safra. "I was absolutely stunned," Burrough said of the cash advance. "To me, the money is not a real thing. It's kind...

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