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Cayne was 'road kill' as Bear buckled

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By Aaron Siegel

August 4, 2008 2:18 pm ET

Jimmy Cayne, the former chairman and chief executive of The Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. of New York, came close to death but survived, although his company did not, according to a report on Fortune magazine's website.

Doctors gave him 50-50 odds of survival during a September bout with sepsis triggered by a severe prostate infection.

Mr. Cayne spent 10 days at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and lost 30 pounds.

His investment bank floundered and collapsed six months later.

In an interview with Fortune, Mr. Cayne seemed to blame his compromised health for his inability to avert disaster for Bear.

"The options were limited. When you become road kill, when you happen to have lost some weight and you're not really healthy, but you know one thing — you know that you have worked your ass off, and you're not smart enough to know the answer — that's tough," Mr. Cayne told the magazine.

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