What Happens Now to 'New York' Magazine?

The finance and media worlds lost a major figure yesterday: Bruce Wasserstein, chairman and CEO of Lazard and owner of New York magazine died at 61. Wasserstein had been hospitalized for an irregular heartbea earlier in the week.

Last night, the New York Observer's John Koblin wondered, With Wasserstein Death, What Will Happen to New York Magazine? Koblin writes, "The magazine is owned by a family trust, not by Lazard or any of Mr. Wasserstein’s other holding companies. Mr. Wasserstein's children, according to reports, include Ben, Pam, Scoop, Jack and Dash."

Wasserstein bought New York in 2005 by outbidding a group of investors that included Mort Zuckerman, Harvey Weinstein, and Donny Deutsch. Wasserstein paid $55 million for the magazine.

New York editor Adam Moss told the Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin and Michael J. de la Merced, "He had always been interested in journalism, an interest sharpened by being on the receiving end of i… But he never used it to wield influence the way other powerful men would have, never tried to plant a story, never complained about anything we published.”

Obituaries for Wasserstein can be found in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and New York's Daily Intel blog. Assessments of his career can be found in the Telegraph, Business Insider's Clusterstock blog, and the Guardian.

Karl Taro Greenfield profiled Wasserstein for Portfolio magazine in January 2008.