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seller would get impatient and say: “Oh, the hell with it.” But Carl is very cautious and has made some beautiful investments for AEA.

He's now retired. I guess he retired as of January 1 this year. He maintains an office in the AEA complex, but is no longer on the board or on the executive committee or anything.

What is your worry about the future?

Why?

Yes. Why are you worried about the future?

Because there aren't many Carl Hesses around. Carl has through his intelligence and experience, developed a sense of what will work and how to make it work. He's very skillful. And he doesn't fight to get the last dollar. A lot of people who are in the business of buying and selling companies will milk them or mishandle them. I think everything that Carl has bought--I'm sure there are some exceptions--but virtually everything he's acquired has been improved and is a better company as a result of the AEA investment. Which is quite a thing to be able to say.

But if you came to the dinner that's held in September at the River Club and you looked at the guest list, or you looked at the individuals, you would say: “My God, I've never seen this much power in a small room before.” Because it is, literally, the heads of some of the greatest businesses in this country. Hewlett-Packard, for example. Bill [William R.] Hewlett is a member. What is it? It's now second only to IBM in the computer business.