PROGRAM GUESTS

ELISABETH CLAIBORNE ORTENBERG and ARTHUR ORTENBERG
Liz Claiborne and Arthur Ortenberg are the co-founders of Liz Claiborne Inc., one of the largest apparel companies in the world. This husband and wife team combine creative brilliance and managerial innovation. Liz worked for 25 years as a fashion designer; Arthur ran a textile company. In 1976, they started their own apparel business with $50,000 in savings and some investments from friends and family with the goal to "clothe the American working woman." Their company had annual sales of $2.6 million the first year. Over the next 10 years, annual revenue exploded to over $1 billion. Liz and Arthur retired from their business in 1990 to commit their energies to wildlife and conservation projects.

MILTON FRIEDMAN, Ph.D.
Dr. Milton Friedman is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California. He was an economist for nearly 40 years at the University of Chicago. He believed that only the amount of money in existence, and not the manipulation of it by government through taxes and expenditures, effects the level of production in an economy. Dr. Friedman is the recipient of the National Medal of Science, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (America's highest civilian honor), nearly 20 honorary degrees, and the Nobel Prize in Economics.

SANDRA L. KURTZIG
Sandra L. Kurtzig is the founder and retired chairman of ASK Computer Systems in Los Altos, California. She earned degrees from UCLA and Stanford in mathematics, chemistry, and aeronautical engineering. Kurtzig later quit her job as the marketing specialist to launch her own computer software business. Starting with $2,000, and working out of a spare bedroom in her apartment, she created the largest public company founded and run by a woman. From these humble beginnings, Sandra Kurtzig built ASK into one of the fastest-growing software companies in the United States, with $400 million in annual sales.

BACKGROUND

Business has been defined as an activity concerned with the supplying and distribution of goods and services. Our guests share a determination to solve problems or satisfy needs. This program will focus on the interrelationship between business, government and society. Our guests will discuss their work as it relates to international economic issues such as the environmental and social problems. They will also discuss the steps to success in business and the role of entrepreneurship in the United States economy. Most importantly, all guests represent the tremendous difference one person can make in making the world a better place.

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Students may already be familiar with the entrepreneurs of business leaders who shaped American industry in the 20th century. Conduct a brainstorming session to review who they are and what their individual contributions are to the free enterprise system.

1.___________________________
2.___________________________
3.___________________________
4.___________________________
5.___________________________

The following places are important to any discussion regarding business and economics. Use this assignment as a geography quiz by locating the places on a map and describe their significance below:

Wall Street:
Fort Knox:
Chicago Board of Trade:
Federal Reserve Banks:
Silicon Valley:
Pacific Rim:
Bretton Woods:

ISSUE QUESTION

On a daily basis, our society struggles with issues that have no easy answer.

Business makes contributions to society and the quality of life in ways that are not always obvious. For example, the price of your admission ticket (even though it may already seem expensive) to visit a museum or see a play is subsidized by the contributions of business and individuals.

Question 1: How has business been successful in helping your community?
Question 2: Would you prefer that your ticket to the museum not be subsidized and that the money be spent for necessities in your community such as health care and housing for the poor? Why or why not?

CAREER CORNER

Studying business and free enterprise may not seem relevant to your future today, but they represent stepping stones to a meaningful career. A knowledge of these subjects will help you decide what is most interesting to you. This is very important because most people spend one-half of their waking time on the job. Investigate the following careers related to science and medicine. Find out what the person does on a daily basis, the educational and work experience required and where the work must be performed.

Accountant
Developer
Inventor
Lawyer
Architect
Economist
Investor
Teacher
Banker
Engineer
Journalist
Urban Planner

PROGRAM GUESTS Cont'd)

RICHARD RAINWATER
Richard Rainwater is a legendary financial dealmaker from Fort Worth, Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in mathematics and earned his MBA from Stanford. As the chief financial architect for the Bass family, Rainwater launched an incredible saga in American business history. He was given $5 million to invest during his first year and lost it all. He then propelled the Bass fortune to more than $5 billion while creating one of the great American dynasties of the 20th century. In 1986, "this capitalist cowboy of the '90s" launched his own business, investing in more than 30 companies and purchasing one million square feet of office space in Texas.

STEPHEN A. WYNN
Stephen Wynn is Chairman and Chief Executive of Mirage Resorts Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada. He became one of the original investors in the Frontier Hotel, which was sold to the legendary Howard Hughes. At the age of 31, Wynn gained control of the Golden Nugget and with "boldness and innovation" transformed the property into Las Vegas' most luxurious hotel and casino. He then built The Mirage, one of the most spectacular and successful resorts in the world. This brilliant entrepreneur recently completed construction of Treasure Island, the Adventure Resort, with a swashbuckling pirate theme that stimulates the imagination of its guests.