Marc Jay Turtletaub (born January 30, 1946) is an American film producer and former president and CEO of the Money Store.
Early life and education
Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, he grew up in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and the adjoining township of Woodbridge. He attended Rutgers Preparatory School, graduating in the class of 1963. The captain and a center on the basketball team, he made All-State in his senior year and was inducted into the Rutgers Prep Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. At the time of his induction he was called a "class individual" by the former basketball coach. He was a political science major at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1967. He was a reporter and then managing editor of the campus newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. He received a "Men's Senior Honor Award" for "outstanding service to the University community" and was selected to be a member of the prestigious Sphinx Senior Society. He attended New York University School of Law, graduating in 1970. He was admitted to the California Bar, becoming inactive in 2013. He was journalist for six years after finishing school, but always felt he was a storyteller.
The Money Store
Turtletaub worked for 20 years at The Money Store, a company founded by his father, Alan Turtletaub, in 1967. The Money Store was a pioneer in the subprime lending industry, making home equity secured second mortgage and other loans to people with blemished credit. Turtletaub succeeded his father as CEO and president in 1989, and, took the company public in 1991, then sold it in June 1998 to First Union Bank for $2.1 billion. During his tenure the advertising-driven lending company's growth was phenomenal, and "had been quite profitable for the Turtletaub family." At the time of the sale, revenue was $831 million/year, loan originations were more than $1 billion a quarter, there were 172 branches and 5000 employees; it was the nation's 5th-largest subprime lender, and the leading home equity and Small Business Administration lender. Turtletaub had built a ziggurat shaped headquarter in West Sacramento, triggering a rebirth in the area. He subscribed to the ancient principles of feng shui, a Chinese geometric practice; with architect Ed Kado, he incorporated these features into the design of this "unique landmark." The need for a "deep pocket" had led to the merger; bond rating agencies had downgraded The Money Store to junk bond status. Within a day of the merger it had a solid rating. "We will now benefit from the rating of the parent company. We are going to be in the driver's seat," Turtletaub said. First Union had trouble integrating acquisitions, and The Money Store did not prosper after the merger. At the time of the severe liquidity crisis of August 1998, the subprime industry imploded. The main source of funds to replenish capital and to refinance new loans, securitization, dried up. Also, the parent company revamped many of the advertising programs that had made the company so previously successful; the Money Store was soon described as barely existing in the form that it was bought in. Turtletaub resigned as president and CEO in May, 1999. By October, 1999, the deal was called a "disaster" for First Union. First Union, preparing for a Wachovia merger, split The Money Store into four divisions, and transferred First Union's bad home equity loans into The Money Store's home equity division. The student loan division, Educaid, and the SBA loan division were retained by First Union.
Turtletaub was a "generous donator" to federally elected officials; a friend of President Bill Clinton (FOB), he got to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom, and had a private "coffee visit" with President Clinton and Senator Chris Dodd, then chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. The Money Store's use of political donations and lobbyists was described as the "classic example of the interaction of money, politics and regulation." Competitors felt that The Money Store was treated more favorably because of its political clout, with accusations that federal rulings in its favor were "politically fixed."
The Money Store was closed in July, 2000, at a loss of $1.7 billion to First Union Bank Corp.