“Great Man” is an ironic term often hung on the pompously grand, and arguably it applied in that vein to Louis Rukeyser. His appetites were fed by ego. But the financial commentator, who died yesterday at age 73, was also truly great in his accomplishments and reach. In finding a large and loyal audience for market talk, he was indeed early if not unique.
Through Wall Street Week, his long-running PBS television program, and in his various speaking and direct-mail publishing ventures, Rukeyser created a national pipeline to individual investors that was essentially apart from the mainstream financial media.
