Alex Mashinsky knew the high-flying days were gone the first time a banker asked how much he charges for a limousine ride instead of just settling into the back seat.
Before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s collapse in September, customers never inquired about price, said Mashinsky, who owns LimoRes.net in Manhattan. Now they try to negotiate discounts, or even hail cabs.
"They used to keep cars by the hour without care," he said. "Everybody's watching their wallet."
After $1 trillion of writedowns and credit losses, not to mention scrutiny of pay, perks and private planes, one-time masters of the universe have turned cost-conscious and wary of being held up as symbols of greed.
"People have actually been embarrassed by the money they've been getting and spending," said Lucyann Barry, a personal shopper in Manhattan who is buying from resale bins for the first time for Wall Street executives and their spouses.
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With New York Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli forecasting a decline in Wall Street-related activities that may slash tax revenue $6.5 billion by 2010, bankers are being told to cut back.
Citigroup Inc.'s Primerica Financial Services unit canceled a trip for sales people to the Bahamas, the company said. Deutsche Bank AG outlawed car-service rides above $250, before 10 p.m. and on weekends, according to a company memo. Pricey vintages aren't popular at Eleven Madison Park, where the 11-course "Gourmand Menu" runs $300 with wine.
"No one's buying the what-the-hell wines," said John Ragan, beverage manager at the restaurant, which is in the same building as Credit Suisse Group AG. "Lunchtime diners used to say 'Oh what the hell,' and order a $500 or $1,000 bottle."
In today's climate, bankers "don't want to demonstrate or flaunt any wealth," said Ben Morris, chief executive officer of Houston-based investment firm Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc. "The message is, 'Gosh, things are tough, and I want to show everyone I'm trying to help.' "
Bowing to the new austerity, Nougatine in the Trump International Hotel & Tower, a stroll from the Central Park West residences of hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, introduced a $35 fixed-price dinner, including appetizer, main course and dessert.
The reservations line at the restaurant, where entrees run from $22 to $65, is quiet because "so many people don't know whether they're going to have a paycheck," said Tamara Wood, assistant to chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Employment in New York's securities industry fell to 168,600 in December from 187,800 in October 2007, or 10.2 percent, the state comptroller has said. The average bonus declined 36.7 percent to $112,000 in 2008, according to the comptroller.
Bonuses will be restricted for top officials at companies accepting cash infusions from the Treasury Department, and their salaries will be capped at $500,000 a year.
In Citigroup's Global Transaction Services unit, employees must book coach seats for most trips, according to a Jan. 27 memo. Business-class travel is only for red-eye flights longer than eight hours for meetings with clients, the memo said. First-class flying is no longer permitted.
While Wall Street's thrift satisfies moralists, it alarms Doron Guez, who said he is firing four of 20 drivers at Eilat New York Limousine International.
"It's like a cut to the throat," said Guez, who owns the car service. "The hard-worker guy gets too little, and the Wall Street people who generate the money and are supposed to protect our money, they walk away with their bonuses."
"No one's buying the what-the-hell wines. Lunchtime diners used to say 'Oh what the hell,' and order a $500 or $1,000 bottle."
John Ragan, beverage manager Eleven Madison Park, an exclusive New York restaurant