Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street. Chapter 9. A Second Sort of Life

这一章节记录了戴维·埃利·利连塔尔令人惊讶的转变：从一位与田纳西河管理局 (TVA) 紧密相连、后来又服务于原子能委员会 (AEC) 的重要新政人物，转变为华尔街一位成功的商人。利连塔尔曾经被商界视为“疯狂社会主义”的象征，但在离开政府部门后，开启了“第二种人生”。 叙述首先强调了利连塔尔在罗斯福时代备受争议的声誉，这源于他与TVA的联系，TVA是一个大型国有电力实体。离开AEC后，令许多人震惊的是，利连塔尔发现自己深深地卷入了私营企业的世界。 他的第一个主要创业项目是作为发展与资源公司 (DNR) 的联合创始人和董事长。DNR 由华尔街支持，为海外自然资源开发提供管理、技术和规划服务。这家公司帮助各国政府建立类似于TVA的计划，开垦干旱地区，并为供水、矿产开发和电力提供建议。 更引人注目的是，利连塔尔作为公司高管和企业家积累了相当可观的财富。他成为美国矿物与化学品公司 (Minerals and Chemicals Corporation of America) 的董事，持有大量在纽约证券交易所交易的股票。此外，他的著作《大企业：一个新时代》(Big Business: A New Era) 主张工业巨头的存在，对滥用权力采取充分的公共保障措施，以及大企业促进小企业和个人主义。 作者对这些发展感到困惑，试图理解华尔街是如何影响利连塔尔的，反之亦然。一次对利连塔尔位于新泽西州普林斯顿的家的拜访，揭示了一个拥抱新生活，同时仍然保留着公共服务意识的人。利连塔尔解释说，他离开AEC是为了自由地表达自己的想法，并避免成为工业界或军方的“猪肉桶”。他带着对谋生的忐忑不安和个人隐私与自由的感觉进入了私人生活。 他的妻子海伦·兰姆·利连塔尔 (Helen Lamb Lilienthal) 证实，他的辞职是一种解脱，因为她被限制讨论他在 AEC 的工作。利连塔尔描述了他在 AEC 遇到的非人化的术语，以及他无法与妻子分享这些经历。 离开 AEC 后，利连塔尔收到了来自哈佛大学、律师事务所和工业公司的邀请。他最终接受了拉扎德兄弟公司 (Lazard Frères and Company) 的兼职咨询工作。这导致了他为其他公司提供咨询服务，包括开利公司 (Carrier Corporation) 和 RCA。 一个转折点发生在拉扎德兄弟公司将利连塔尔与 Minerals Separation North American Corporation 联系起来时。他被委以重任，要重振这家陷入困境的专利公司，并策划了与 Adapulga Clay Company (一家生产特种粘土的南方公司) 的合并。事实证明这次合并非常成功，促成了 Adapulga Minerals and Chemicals Corporation 的成立，利润和股价大幅上涨。利连塔尔成为董事会主席，后来又成为执行委员会主席。 通过公司授予的股票期权，利连塔尔的财富迅速增长。他行使了他的期权，以低价购买股票，然后以可观的利润出售。到 1950 年代中期，他已经成为百万富翁。 当矿物与化学品公司在纽约证券交易所上市时，利连塔尔感到了一种胜利感。尽管他对金融界有所保留，但他对金融家产生了新的尊重，并发现商业生活在创造方面令人兴奋。 利连塔尔转变的关键在于他能够全身心投入到工作中，并将他的技能应用于任何挑战。他保持独立，同时也变得富有。然而，一种对妥协挥之不去的不满情绪似乎仍然存在。这促使了发展与资源公司的成立，这使他能够将他的商业头脑与他对公共服务的热情结合起来。 DNR 参与了各种发展项目，包括在伊朗胡齐斯坦省的大型垦荒计划，以及在意大利、哥伦比亚、加纳、科特迪瓦和波多黎各的项目。1968 年，他再次拜访，在 DNR 的办公室里看到他，他表示，现在私营企业带给他的满足感比他从公共服务中获得的任何时候都要多。

This chapter chronicles David Eli Lilienthal's surprising transition from a prominent New Deal figure, deeply associated with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and later the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), to a successful businessman on Wall Street. Lillienthal, once seen as a symbol of "galloping socialism" by the business community, embarks on a "second sort of life" after leaving government service. The narrative begins by highlighting Lillienthal's controversial reputation during the Roosevelt era, stemming from his association with the TVA, a large government-owned electric power entity. After leaving the AEC, Lillienthal, much to the astonishment of many, found himself deeply involved in the world of private enterprise. His first major venture was as co-founder and chairman of the Development and Resources Corporation (DNR). DNR, backed by Wall Street, provides managerial, technical, and planning services for natural resource development abroad. This firm helps governments establish programs similar to the TVA, reclaiming arid regions and advising on water supply, mineral development, and electric power. More strikingly, Lillienthal amassed a considerable fortune as a corporate officer and entrepreneur. He became a director of the Minerals and Chemicals Corporation of America, holding a substantial number of shares that were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Moreover, his book "Big Business: A New Era" argues in favor of industrial bigness, adequate public safeguards against abuses, and the promotion of small business and individualism by big business. Confused by these developments, the author sought to understand how Wall Street had influenced Lillienthal, and vice versa. A visit to Lillienthal's home in Princeton, New Jersey, revealed a man who had embraced his new life while still retaining a sense of public service. Lillienthal explained that he left the AEC to speak his mind freely and avoid becoming a "pork barrel" for industry or the military. He entered private life with trepidation about making a living but also with a feeling of personal privacy and freedom. His wife, Helen Lamb Lilienthal, confirmed that his resignation was a relief, as she had been restricted from discussing his AEC work. Lillienthal described the dehumanizing jargon he encountered in the AEC and his inability to share these experiences with his wife. After leaving the AEC, Lillienthal received offers from Harvard, law firms, and industrial companies. He eventually accepted a part-time consulting job at Lazard Frères and Company. This led to consulting work for other companies, including Carrier Corporation and RCA. A turning point came when Lazard Frères connected Lillienthal with Minerals Separation North American Corporation. He was tasked with reviving the struggling patent company and orchestrated a merger with the Adapulga Clay Company, a Southern company producing specialty clay. This merger proved successful, leading to the formation of the Adapulga Minerals and Chemicals Corporation and a significant rise in profits and stock price. Lillienthal became chairman of the board and later chairman of the executive committee. Through stock options granted by the company, Lillienthal's wealth grew dramatically. He exercised his options, bought shares at a low price, and sold them at a substantial profit. By the mid-1950s, he had become a millionaire. Lillienthal felt a sense of triumph when Minerals and Chemicals was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Despite his reservations about the world of finance, he developed a new respect for financiers and found business life creatively stimulating. The key to Lillienthal’s transformation was his ability to immerse himself in his work and bring his skills to bear on any challenge. He kept his independence while becoming wealthy. However, a nagging sense of dissatisfaction with compromise seemed to remain. This led to the formation of the Development and Resources Corporation, which allowed him to combine his business acumen with his passion for public service. DNR engaged in various development projects, including a large-scale reclamation scheme in Kuzestan, Iran, and programs in Italy, Colombia, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Puerto Rico. In 1968, he revisited to see him in the DNR's office where he stated that private enterprise was now affording him more satisfaction than he had ever derived from public service.