Bob Diamond marked down as the ‘casino’ face of banking has taken over at Barclays Bank. He was born on 27 July 1951 in Massachusetts USA and is a Sun Leo (fitting for a career in speculation). He also has the economic/heady dreams Jupiter Neptune in opposition in Cardinal signs squaring onto Mars Uranus in Cancer. So he’s a go-getter, a reformer, uncompromising, hyper-active, aggressive and not always tactful. His upfront Jupiter in Aries trines powerful Pluto so he’s got confidence to spare. His Sun luckily is in a sensible sextile to Saturn in late Virgo anchoring him down somewhat.
His Jupiter certainly fits in with Barclays Bank (7 April 1690) since it is conjunct their Sun Venus conjunction so he brings confidence and strong beliefs to their business. But since his Neptune also opposes and Mars Uranus squares the Barclays Sun, Venus he’ll be an unsettling presence at the same time who cuts across normal courtesies. His Saturn also opposes the Barclays’ Jupiter (Moon) Mercury in Pisces so he may sharpen up some of the system in the company. His Saturn also squares the Barclays’ Mars in Gemini so there’ll be difference of opinion along the way.
His chart is filled with high enthusiasm as he takes over with his Solar Arc Mars conjunct Venus this year. But he’s also got an anxiety-provoking Solar Arc Pluto conjunct Neptune now; an undermining tr Neptune square Solar Arc Saturn later this autumn into the winter as well as a jolting tr Uranus opposition Saturn in September and again early 2011 – so there won’t be much of a honeymoon period for him. Plus he has tr Saturn damping down his forward thrust from this November as it hard aspects his Cardinal T Square for about a year ahead.
The Ukrainian–born co-founder of Paypal Max Levchin was born on 11 July 1975. He’s got an intriguing chart. His hard working, disciplined Sun Saturn in Cancer sit on the focal point of a T square to an adventurous Uranus opposition Jupiter. So he’s got the executive ability (Saturn), ego-drive (focal point Sun), technological aptitude (Uranus) and good luck (Jupiter) to make it happen, all in initiative-oozing Cardinal signs. His Mercury in communicative Gemini is also trine Uranus and sextile Jupiter hooking that into his central configuration.
Plus he has a Yod of Neptune sextile Pluto inconjunct Mars in Taurus so he’s aggressive, overly decisive and confrontational. Yods, which are elongated triangles, initially bring strain but once the out-of-alignment influences start pulling together then it acts as a lightning rod. Bil Tierney writes of this placing that ‘the individual might have to sever ties from the past or break away from comforting securities’ to get onto a more productive track.
His family moved from the Ukraine under political asylum in 1991 when his Jupiter had moved by Solar Arc Direction to conjunct that Mars with Solar Arc Saturn square – which was clearly the jolt needed to click his Yod into place and into forward gear. He then took a degree in Computing Science at Illinois and thereafter began founding internet companies, firstly the forerunner of Paypal and has continued, after selling it, into social networking companies and now is a Vice President with Google.
