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 | | From: | BDNKMFZ | | Subject: | Re: dpss04.zip - Digital Photo Slide Show: Screen saver & tools | | Date: | Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:38:28 GMT |
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 | is clear about this early on, when
he writes that Joe Kennedy Sr. was richer than either David or
Nelson Rockefeller (p. 133). As any student of wealth and power
in America knows, this is a rather amazing statement. In 1960,
according to John Blair's definitive study The Control of Oil,
the Rockefeller family had controlling interest in three of the
top seven oil companies in America, and four of the top eight in
the world. They were also in control of Chase Manhattan Bank, one
of the biggest in the nation then and the largest today. They
also owned the single most expensive piece of real estate in the
country, Rockefeller Center in New York City. The list of private
corporations controlled by them could go on for a page, but to
name just two, how about IBM and Eastern Airlines. I won't
enumerate the overseas holdings of the family but, suffice it to
say, the Kennedys weren't in the same league in that category.
JFK knew this. As Mort Sahl relates, before the 1960 election, he
liked to kid Kennedy about being the scion of a multimillionaire.
Kennedy cornered him once on this topic and asked him point blank
how much he thought his family was worth. Sahl replied, "Probably
about three or four hundred million." Kennedy then asked him how
much he thought the Rockefellers were worth. Sahl said he had no
idea. Kennedy replied sharply, "Try about four billion." JFK let
the number sink in and then added, "Now that's money, Mort."
Throughout the book, Davis tries to convey the feeling of a
destined royalty assuming power. So, according to Davis, Kennedy
was thinking of the Senate when he was first elected to the
House. Then, from his first day in the Senate, he was thinking of
the Vice-Presidency (p. 147). Epitomizing this idea, Davis
relates a personal vignette about the Kennedy family wake after
JFK's funeral. Davis, a cousin of Jackie Kennedy, was leaving the
hall and paused to shake hands with Rose Kennedy to offer his
condolences (p
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