IN Between The Pages with Doug Hess and Ann Berman

In this episode, I spoke with author Ann Berman about her book "Louis Graveraet Kaufman: The Fabulous Michigan Gatsby Who Conquered Wall Street, Took Over General Motors, and Built the World's Tallest Building" This fascinating biography recounts the life and legacy of a titan of American banking, Louis Graveraet Kaufman (1870–1942). Also known as LG, he was a Gatsbyesque figure born in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who married into great wealth and then amassed far more of his own.

Under LG, New York's Chatham Phenix National Bank and Trust Company became one of the nation's largest banks and the first in New York to boast a network of branches. When he was denied entry into the exclusive, Protestant, old-money Huron Mountain Club, LG responded by building his own retreat: the world's largest log lodge, a 26,000-square-foot behemoth near Marquette, Michigan. Christened Granot Loma, it became the site of lavish Prohibition-era parties, attracting many celebrities who came in private rail cars to enjoy jazz and liquor chez Kaufman.