Following the calculations I did last week, adjusting Monopoly for inflation as if it were real life, I began to speculate about what it would take for the average, regular, typical American citizen to “feel” rich. [mainbodyad]I think the average American would feel really, really well off at the equivalent of a light purple Monopoly…
DetailsYears ago, the Walt Disney Company released a limited edition Scrooge McDuck Cookie Jar, restricted to 250 copies. I spotted one at a good price a few days ago and bought it for the Carl Barks collection. It arrived and is now right where it belongs.
DetailsAdolphus Green was the genius that founded the modern day Nabisco, which was known as the “biscuit trust” after J.P. Morgan combined much of the nation’s bakeries under a single entity that Green controlled. He is responsible for most of the snacks America has enjoyed for generations. The thing that impressed me most about Adolphus…
DetailsFollowing up on the article I wrote about cigarette market share in the United States, I thought this was a great story about the legendary employee stock ownership culture at Reynolds Tobacco back in the first half of the 20th century. It comes from Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, which you should buy. It explains how R.J. Reynolds almost forced his employees to buy stock in the company and even created a special class of dividend shares for them!
DetailsThere is so much going on I don’t know if I’ll have much time to read, but the sunset and great lighting, combined with reading about R.J. Reynolds today, made me grab a copy of Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, the book famous for chronicling the leveraged buyout that changed the…
DetailsFour Companies Control 94.8% Market Share of the Domestic Cigarette Industry in the United States On this blog, in my articles, and even in my books, I have often used the example of how capital allocation determines the wealth one ultimately has. Many times, I used the illustration of a married couple, both of whom…
DetailsHow a Holding Company Works A holding company is a special type of business that doesn’t do anything itself. Instead, it owns investments, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, gold, silver, real estate, art, patents, copyrights, licenses, private businesses, or virtually anything of value. The term holding company comes from the fact that the business…
DetailsIntelligence, knowledge, wisdom, discernment and good temperament are five distinct attributes a man or woman can possess. It is a common mistake to believe that they are interchangeable. They are not. Although they tend to be related, it is possible to have one without the others. How they interact with one another can determine the…
DetailsWe finally got a few of the other Carl Barks collection framed for the office walls. I’ve been meaning to get pictures up for months and finally just decided to stop and do it. I was browsing auction records tonight so it reminded me …
DetailsToday, I wanted to write new content for Investing for Beginners at About.com, a division of The New York Times, and then go through the S&P stock sheets for fun.
