Who

Banker-turned-politician Jon Corzine is the Governor of New Jersey and, after a horrific car accident, the state's newest cheerleader for seatbelt use.

Backstory

Much like Michael Bloomberg, Corzine has been surprisingly successful at transitioning from the role of corporate heavyweight to political leader. An Illinois native—he was raised on a farm—Corzine went to work for a couple of small banks in the Midwest after graduating the University of Chicago business school, joining Goldman Sachs in 1975. Signing on as a bond trader, he made partner in 1980 and headed up the fixed income group in the late '80s and early '90s, before being named senior partner following the departure of Bob Rubin and Stephen Friedman.

During his final years at the firm, Corzine led the charge to turn Goldman from one of Wall Street's most venerated partnerships into a public company. But in January 1999, shortly before Goldman's IPO, Corzine was muscled out of the CEO job by Hank Paulson and John Thornton. It was a painful end to his quarter-century at the firm: So incensed was Corzine by the betrayal, he reportedly spent his final weeks at Goldman working from his chauffeured car parked in front of 85 Broad Street.

Corzine considered taking another corporate job after leaving the firm. But when he learned that Senator Frank Lautenberg wasn't planning to run for another term—and mindful that he had some $300 million in cash and Goldman stock in his possession—Corzine jumped into the political ring, spending a record-breaking $62 million to beat Republican nominee Bob Franks and become New Jersey's junior U.S. Senator in 2000. Five years later he announced his candidacy again—this time for Governor—following Jim McGreevey's resignation. He comfortably defeated Republican challenger Doug Forrester, capturing 54 percent of the vote.

On the job

Corzine's gubernatorial tenure got off to a rocky start. In 2006, he got into a nasty fight with fellow Democrats over the state budget—particularly a sales tax increase Corzine was pushing for—that resulted in a six-day shutdown of the government. (A compromise later gave Corzine the increase he wanted.) Since then, he's championed a handful of issues that he's long been passionate about: He's enacted funding for stem cell research, reduced property taxes (a major campaign issue), legalized civil union for gay couples, called for reductions in the state's greenhouse gas emissions, and signed a bill ending the death penalty in New Jersey.

Close call

An April 2007 car accident on the Garden State Parkway nearly ended Corzine's life. His SUV, which was being driven by a New Jersey state trooper, crashed into a guardrail and left Corzine hospitalized for 18 days with more than a dozen broken bones. (He was later ticketed $46 for not wearing a seatbelt.) Unfortunately, unsafe driving seems to a deeply embedded habit for Corzine: After a hospital press conference where he apologized for breaking traffic laws, he hopped in another chauffeured vehicle and sped off, breaking the speed limit once again.

The look

Corzine has always been partial to comfy pullover sweaters and he's worn a beard his entire career. He was unusual sight among the freshly scrubbed bankers at Goldman Sachs, and the look was equally controversial when he decided to run for office. His advisors recommended he shave it; Corzine thought that getting rid of the beard would undermine credibility with voters.

Personal

Corzine was married to Joanne Dougherty for 33 years and they had three kids together: Jennifer, Josh, and Jeffrey. In 2000, the couple separated after he reportedly started dating union leader Carla Katz; Corzine and Dougherty eventually divorced in 2003. (Famously, Joanne told the Times in 2005 that Corzine had "let his family down and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too," a line that Doug Forrester later used in campaign materials.) Corzine and Katz later moved in together before breaking up two years later. More recently, he's been linked to psychotherapist Sharon Elghanayan, the ex-wife of NYC developer Tom Elghanayan, Henry Elghanayan's brother.

Drama

Corzine took heat after his breakup with Katz, whose union is one of the most powerful in New Jersey and represents nearly half of all New Jersey state employees. It was soon discovered that he'd forgiven a $470,000 loan he'd made to her. Their relationship generated fresh headlines in 2007 over $6 million he'd given Katz in 2004, supposedly to help her buy a condo in his building, a car, and pay for her kids' college tuition.

Habitat

Corzine lives in a luxury condo in Hoboken's Hudson Tea Building, where his neighbors include Giants quarterback Eli Manning. He also has a home in Sagaponack.

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