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the drop of a hat.

These associations are born out of long relationships and a great deal of trust. That's the reason I said twenty-five guys in the graduating class at Harvard--you could identify that many people who might grow into this kind of a thing. But if you said, “I want to start it today,” maybe you could do it, but I think you would have a tough time doing it.

And AEA had been in business long before I got in. I didn't even know it existed. I can't now tell you how I got in.

Well, I think the book said that a certain number of people came in around the time you did who were members of the Business Council. So I wondered if you were not--

No, I didn't come in through the Business Council. I think John Veronas, with whom I owned the ill-fated magazine we published, called Book Digest. I think I told John one day that I needed somebody that I could turn to for investment advice, and I didn't want to go to a broker. I wanted somebody who was much more personal than that. I think he said he knew some people, and I think one of the people he introduced me to was Carl Hess. I think that's how I got to know Carl.

I didn't even know what Carl did, except that I knew, from John Veronas that Carl was a trustworthy business type. There are a lot of them that will skin you, but Carl has been absolutely perfect.

Before we leave the AEA I notice that there's also a roster of institutional members--