Ryan Knudson

Not too long ago, a short story in the Wall Street Journal caught the attention of our colleague Eric Schwartzel.

It was a story about a man named Howard Rubin who'd been arrested on sex trafficking charges.

He pleaded not guilty.

Rubin was a star trader on Wall Street who made millions and whose successes and failures over the years got written up in our newspaper, the Wall Street Journal.

Along with his reputation as a big-shot traitor, he was also known as a family man.

But something that not many people knew was that Rubin had a dark side.

How would you describe who Howard Rubin is?

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power.

I'm Ryan Knudson.

It's Thursday, January 29th.

Coming up on the show, a Wall Street titan and his very dark secret.

So

South of Central Park in Manhattan, there's a building called the Metropolitan Tower.

It was built in 1987.

It's 68 stories tall, and the outside is all glass.

This room in this apartment would be the center of the alleged sex trafficking.

Since being arrested for this and other crimes this past September, Rubin has pleaded not guilty.

His lawyers have argued that the encounters were consensual.

Before news of the alleged sex trafficking broke, Rubin had built a decades-long reputation on Wall Street as a smart and risk-loving trader.

Can you tell me the story of how Howard Rubin rose to power on Wall Street?