Office humor item.  Food for Thought.  "In 1923, a group of the world's most successful financiers met ... "  US, 1948.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In 1923, a group of the world's most successful financiers met at the Edgewater Beach hotel in Chicago. Present were:
The president of the largest independent steel company.
The president of the largest utility company.
The greatest wheat speculator.
The president of the New York Stock Exchange.
A member of three President's cabinet.
The greatest "bear" in Wall Street.
The president of the International Settlements
The head of the world's greatest monopoly.
Collectively, these tycoons controlled more wealth than there was in the United Sates Treasury, and for years newspapers and magazines had been printing their success stories and urging the youth of the nation to follow their examples. Twenty-five years later, lets see what happened to these men.
The president of the largest independent steel company - Charles Schwab - lived on borrowed money the last five years of his life.
The greatest wheat speculator - Arthur Cutten - died abroad, insolvent.
The president of the New York Stock Exchange - Richard Whitney - was recently released from Sing Sing.
The member of the President's cabinet - Albert Fall - was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.
The greatest "bear" in Wall Street - Jesse Livermore - committed suicide.
The president of the Bank of International Settlement - Leon Fraser - committed suicide.
The head of the world's greatest monopoly - Ivar Kreuger - committed suicide.
All of these men had learned how to make money, but not one of them had learned how to live.

Published: The Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio), 17 Nov. 1948, p. 4.  Column: Pitching Horseshoes by Billy Rose. "Today I received an 8-by-11 chunk of memeographing ..." It came in an envelope postmarked "San Francisco and was sent by Louis Lurie ..." "Without further fulminations, and with Mr. Lurie's permission, here's the tract in full." This column was published widely, all with the same date. This is the earliest example found in newspaper databases (1/2014). Note that the president of the largest utility company is omitted from the second list.   Entered by DWV, Jan. 20, 2014.

ie1948-11-17p1_FoodForThought!_NoGolf


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