Bruce Wasserstein | Wall St. dealmaker, 61

Bruce Wasserstein, 61, whose more than 30 years of dealmaking earned him wealth, the envy of his peers, and ultimately the top job at Lazard Ltd., has died.

Lazard spokeswoman Monica Orbe confirmed his death. He was hospitalized Sunday with an irregular heartbeat.

A onetime corporate lawyer, Mr. Wasserstein rose to the top of the ranks of merger advisers during the 1980s. He became chairman and chief executive officer of Lazard in May 2005.

One of his siblings was Wendy Wasserstein, whose works included The Heidi Chronicles, which won a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. She died in 2006, at 55. - Bloomberg News