Name That Tycoon
Take this quiz to test your knowledge of financiers, bankruptcy filings and other 1991 business matters. What you know will matter more than who you know. Answers on D2.
1. When the recession will end is an open question. When it began isn’t. Within three months, when did it start?
2. On the same unpleasant topic: Within one percentage point, give the latest unemployment rates for:
a) The United States
b) California
c) Los Angeles County
3. The skies were unfriendly to airlines in 1991. Which of the following did not file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year?
a) TWA
b) Midway
c) America West
d) Pan Am
4. Name the colorful Italian financier who briefly led MGM-Pathe on a wild ride before being ousted.
5. What do the letters BCCI stand for?
6. It was a tough year for thrifts. Which of these names did not vanish from the California financial landscape in 1991?
a) Columbia Savings & Loan
b) HomeFed Bank
c) Lincoln Savings & Loan
d) Great American Bank
7. Name the former hairdresser and boyfriend of Barbra Streisand who was eased out as co-chairman of what is now Sony Pictures.
8. Executive Life Insurance ended up in the junk heap. As head of its parent, First Executive, he loaded down the insurer with junk bonds. Name that manager.
9. Name the richest American, according to Forbes magazine. Bonus: Within $1 billion, how much is this person worth?
10. This tycoon has made a slew of clever deals but becoming the largest investor in Orion Pictures wasn’t one; it recently filed for Chapter 11. Who’s the tycoon, and give or take a billion, how much is the person worth?
11. What was the prime rate--now 6.5%--at the start of the year (within a percentage point)?
12. True or false: Despite the recession, the Dow Jones industrial average has climbed more than 15% this year.
13. Within $10 a share, what was the price of the following stocks at the start of the year?
a) IBM (Hint: stock closed at $89.125 on Friday)
b) General Motors (stock closed at $27.75 on Friday)
14. Who’s the richest Californian, according to the Forbes list? Within $1 billion, how much is the person worth?
15. McDonnell Douglas sold what percentage of its commercial aircraft business to Japanese investors?
a) 100%
b) 50%
c) 40%
d) None
16. The man playing the starring role in cleaning up Salomon Bros. portrayed himself in an ABC soap opera this year. Name the executive and the show.
17. George Bush, whose feet are to the fire over the economy, bought a pair of socks at what store in an effort to inspire people to spend?
18. BankAmerica will soon swallow Security Pacific. Who’ll be chief executive of the new behemoth?
19. Nowadays, Alan M. Dershowitz represents junk-bond wizard Michael Milken, but the Harvard law professor was famous long before that. Actor Ron Silver portrayed him in which of these films?
a) “Legal Eagles”
b) “Reversal of Fortune”
c) “Presumed Innocent”
d) “And Justice For All”
e) “Den of Thieves”
20. Directors of Compaq pulled the plug on this company founder when they ousted him as chief executive. Who is he?
21. Carter Hawley Hale Stores, which filed for Chapter 11 this year, owns which of these department stores?
a) Robinson’s
b) May Co.
c) Bullock’s
d) Broadway
22. Within five, what is the number of criminal counts that former Lincoln Savings & Loan owner Charles H. Keating Jr. was convicted of?
23. The late British media mogul Robert Maxwell led a secretive life. To which intelligence agency has he not been publicly linked?
a) Mossad
b) KGB
c) CIA
24. Sneaker maker L.A. Gear’s finances were wearing thin before it was rescued by a group with ties to investor Roy E. Disney. What relation is he to the legendary Walt Disney?
a) Cousin
b) Nephew
c) Son
d) No kin at all
25. Bonus question: According to the latest news reports, is New York developer Donald J. Trump engaged to actress Marla Maples?
Answers to Quiz
1) July, 1990. 2) a. 6.8%; b. 7.4%; c. 8.5%. 3) a. TWA. It plans to file for Chapter 11 next year. 4) Giancarlo Parretti. 5) Bank of Credit & Commerce International. (Half credit if you said Bank of Crooks & Criminals International.) 6) b. HomeFed. 7) Jon Peters. 8) Fred Carr. 9) John Kluge. Net worth estimated at $5.9 billion. 10) Kluge again. 11) 10%. 12) True. As of Friday, the Dow was up 467.82, or nearly 17.7%, since the year began. 13) a. IBM traded for 113; b. GM traded for 34 3/8. 14) Hewlett-Packard founder David Packard. Net worth estimated at $1.7 billion. 15) d. None. The investors were from Taiwan. 16) Warren Buffett and “All My Children.” 17) J . C . Penney. 18) Richard M. Rosenberg. 19) b. “Reversal of Fortune.” 20) Rod Canion. 21) d. The Broadway. 22) 17. 23) c. CIA. 24) b. Nephew. 25) Give yourself credit for any answer, and double for not answering at all.
Scoring: 20-25, Excellent; 15-19, Good; 10-14, OK; 5-9, Need refresher; 0-4, Move on to Sports.
