Exclusive | Welcome to the finance bros redemption era: Were not the villains anymore now its tech

Three Bear Stearns bankers walk into a fashionable downtown bar.Twenty years ago, that might have been the start of a joke — or everyone else’s cue to leave.Today, the joke’s on the rest of us.Private equity guys get the nod at hard-to-crack haunts like Zero Bond and People’s.They sit at Bar Oliver in Chinatown, where they trade knowing nods and showy fist-bumps with Dua Lipa and Joe Jonas.You’ll see them crammed into invite-only short story readings with actress Jemima Kirke and socialite Carole Radziwill.

On Paris runways, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent leaned hard into their quarter-zip fleeces and square-shouldered blazers.And everywhere they go, they are prowled relentlessly by single women (and men) of all ages.Celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman are reportedly dating normie financiers who barely have an Instagram account, much less a Hollywood rep.Call it the redemption era of the finance bros — that Wharton-bred tribe that once sparked dread in the hearts of their fellow New York party people.“We’re no longer the bad guys in the story,” said Ben Carlson, who handles private portfolio assets at the midtown firm Ritholtz Wealth Management.

“It’s not 2008 anymore; we didn’t cause any new recessions.” Now, Carlson explained, “The tech bro has replaced the finance guy as the villain.They went from lovable nerd to evil genius.

They invented AI.We’re off the hook!”Matchmaker Bonnie Winston says when it comes to finance bros, their stock is up in the dating world, too.

“10 years ago, you’d have all the beautiful, cool girls — the ones who work in fashion or music; the ones every guy wanted to date — asking for artists, musicians, writers,” she said.“Now they’re realizing, ‘You know, I’d rather go out with the guy who can buy the rock band’s entire catalogue, instead of the one playing the songs.”Winston also says the education factor matters.

“It’s harder now to work in finance.T...