I was once at a dinner party and someone was telling me about her recent trip to Arizona. One of the highlights was visiting a biodome project where scientists had attempted to achieve a totally self-sustained structure in preparation for the colonization of other planets. I told her that Steve Bannon used to run that place. She didn’t believe me. I obnoxiously pulled out my phone and showed her Bannon’s Wikipedia page.
Steve Bannon has lived a fascinating life. That’s not an evaluation of his politics or morality, it’s a statement of fact. Witness Bannon’s life in bullet points:
- Born in 1953 in Norfolk, Virginia to a telephone lineman and a housewife
- Attended military prep school and then Virginia Tech for a degree in Urban Planning, was elected president of the student body, worked in a junk yard
- Served in the navy for seven years in the Pacific fleet
- While in the navy, earned a Masters in National Security Studies from Georgetown
- After leaving the navy, earned an MBA from Harvard
- Got a job at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker in the mergers & acquisitions division, worked way up to a Vice President position
- Left Goldman Sachs with some colleagues to launch Bannon & Co., a boutique investment bank specializing in media, nabbed a small slice of syndication rights to mega-hit tv show Seinfeld, still receives residual payments from the show to this day
Matt Lakeman 