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Bennett CerfBennett Cerf
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Session:         Page of 1029

After our stock had gone down, as I say, from thirty-two to about $9 a share, our business began to get better and the acquisitions that we were making started showing up in the figures so our stock started going up again.

Q:

At this time did you have any stock option plans or profit sharing within the firm?

Cerf:

We've always had at Random House--one of the reasons that I guess people have been happy there, besides the fact that it is a happy place to work, we think, and a very informal place-- every benefit known to man or beast for our people. We've had pensions, insurance, health, everything, and big bonuses because we've always believed in sharing with our people. Very few employees ever leave Random House!

Q:

That's true. I mean you haven't had the problems that a lot of publishers have.

Cerf:

No. We have to ease people out when they're ninety-eight years old. We have no age rules either. I don't think that three important employees have been kicked out of Random House in the whole history of the firm.

I've told you about one fellow that we hired...

Q:

Blaisdell.





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