Rogue Trader Nick Leeson?
George Bush may believe the U.S. economy is in safe hands - but one look at his Treasury Secretary tells another story.
It's not Henry Paulson's eyes, seemingly permanently glazed from gazing at spreadsheets, that give cause for concern; nor his worry-furrowed brow running seamlessly back to the bald pate.
It's the fact that Paulson is a dead ringer for British rogue trader Nick Leeson.
Money men: Henry Paulson bears an uncanny resemblance to Nick Leeson, pictured during his 2001 trial for drink driving
Leeson brought down his employer, Barings Bank - Britain's oldest investment bank - in 1995 by making disastrous bets on futures in Singapore and then trying to cover up his catastrophic £860million losses.
Paulson is the mastermind behind George Bush's £400billion bail-out plan for crisis-hit Wall Street banks.
With their thin-rimmed spectacles, the same bald heads and the same tired eyes, the two men could almost be twins.
In fact Paulson was born in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1947 - 20 years before Leeson was born in rather less glamorous Watford, Hertfordshire.
But just as the U.S. President is now pinning his economic hopes on Paulson's abilities, the Queen once banked her money with Leeson's doomed employers.
And the Treasury Secretary, known as Hank, has a touch of Leeson's hand-wringing charm.
He reportedly knelt before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to beg for her support at yesterday's fractious White House meeting to push the bail-out plan through.
Stressful times: But Paulson, heading into a crisis meeting in Washington yesterday, looks as composed as Leeson on his arrest at Frankfurt in 1995
Paulson has also shown an ability to hide from inconvenient visitors which recalls Leeson's.
The rogue trader fled Singapore as Barings fell, and was only caught by police in Frankfurt, Germany.
This week the Treasury Secretary successfully evaded Gordon Brown when the Prime Minister visited New York, saying simply that he was 'too busy' to meet up.
Should Paulson's bail-out plan fail - and if Barack Obama wins the race for the White House - the Treasury Secretary can take inspiration from Leeson's talent for survival.
Barings Bank may be no more, but the former rogue trader has survived Singapore's notorious Changi prison as well as divorce, colon cancer and a drink-driving conviction to become a published author, an after-dinner speaker and chief executive of Irish football club Galway United.
He was even played by Ewan McGregor in a film based on his autobiography, Rogue Trader.
And if all else fails, Paulson might want to read Leeson's other book, Coping With Stress.
Source: Daily Mail UK, September 26, 2008 
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