Stock Research And The Price Of Leadership corporate Public Private

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the President of Vanderbilt University receives compensation of $1.4 million. The school also spends in excess of $700,000 on frequent parties, and a personal chef. Theres also the issue of $6 million of improvements to the mansion where he lives, which the university paid for. At least six colleges in the country are now paying about a million a year to their Presidents.Well the President of Vanderbilt University with his wife were on the way to Dubai in the Middle East, and supposedly made a stop in Rome, so his wife could have her hair cut. Assuming these stories are true, WHATS GOING ON? Is this arrogance, this I dont give a dam attitude. I realize there are people in the world starving to death, and we probably will never be able to get the food to them anyway, but a little HUMILITY and GRACE, never hurt anyone.Hurd is not okay. If he knew about the Pretexting and did nothing to stop an illegal corporate act, than hes guilty of condoning illegal acts. This is different than the President of Vanderbilt University, E. Gordon Gee, who seems to have an attitude of, WHERES MINE. One can also defend Gee by saying that he is responsible for increasing the schools endowment from $2 billion, to $3 billion in a few short years, a spectacular result. The problem is his compensation is for running the school. He did not sign a performance deal based on money raised, and maybe thats what schools should be doing.It gets us back to WHERES MINE?My, how times have changed. Now government is a pathway to great WEALTH. It used to be POWER. The average Congressman makes $165,200 per year in government salary. The leadership in both houses makes about $20,000 more.No wonder the Democrats are fighting so hard to take back control of Congress. Its all about whose first in line for the trips, and other bonuses. What kind of bonuses you ask? I have been in dozens of ultra expensive restaurants in my life, and seen elected officials eating at the finest tables, and they couldnt afford to pick up a bill for $300 or $500 for the night. How did they do it? They do it by having lobbyists pick up the tab, thats how.A second corporation I visited, a different Chairman when asked the same question, would pull open a draw and take out what appeared to be a stack of used envelopes from previously received mail. He had slit both sides of the envelope and opened it along the fold, thus making a stack of clean stationary from the inside of the envelopes of mail that had been sent to him. I made a fortune on that companys stock. The other company was out of business in two years. Both were NY Stock Exchange members.

When I was a limited partner at Bear Stearns in the 1980s, the Chairman Ace Greenberg, made it a point to say he would never allow the company to purchase paper clips. He was making a point. There are always thousands of paper clips in any corporation. Watch the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves. Perhaps not with college Presidents or members of Congress, but it still works in business.