Michael Bloomberg
The hot issue at the GOP debate: Charlie Rose's oak table
October 24, 2011: 5:00 AM ET
FORTUNE -- We all know that Charlie Rose loves the iconic circular oak table on his PBS talk show. But who knew it would become the subject of a dispute among eight Republican presidential candidates? At their recent debate at Dartmouth College, Rose, who was moderating, wanted the candidates to sit at a giant-size replica of the table. It would mark the first time in a string of GOP debates that podiums were not used. Many of the candidates didn't like the idea. Among the complaints heard by representatives of Bloomberg, which sponsored the debate: The table's not big enough! I'll look too confrontational when I turn to my side to argue! Somebody else will be able to see my notes! Before the debate, the sponsors even sent the campaigns a diagram of the table. Rose prevailed. But a table still had to be built -- and Bloomberg picked up the tab. (Is there nothing the empire of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg can't afford?) An upstate New York shop got the job and added leaves in case the field of candidates changed. But Bloomberg's representative in the negotiations, Al Hunt -- executive editor of Bloomberg News in D.C. -- still worried about a ninth candidate. "If Chris Christie had entered the race," he says, "we'd have needed a much larger table." --David A. Kaplan
This article is from the November 7, 2011 issue of Fortune.
-
Steve Brill's blackboard jungle
Our Weekly Read column features Fortune staffers' and contributors' takes on recently published books about the business world and beyond. We've invited the entire Fortune family -- from our writers and editors to our photo editors and designers -- to weigh in on books of their choosing based on their individual tastes or curiosities. Each Friday we feature a different review. This week, Fortune contributor David A. Kaplan takes a MORE
Aug 19, 2011 5:00 AM ET -
Letters from The Giving Pledge
Most billionaires joining Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge are penning pledge letters, explaining their motivations. Here are highlights from the recent class.
By Anne VanderMey, reporter
What do Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, real estate baron and failed senate candidate Jeff Greene and Wall Street mogul Carl Icahn have in common?
If you said they're very rich, you're right. But that's not all. They're all part of the Giving Pledge, the campaign initiated MORE
Jan 3, 2011 12:47 PM ET -
The $600 billion challenge
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking the nation's billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of philanthropy.
By Carol J. Loomis, senior editor-at-large
FORTUNE -- Just over a year ago, in May 2009, word leaked to the press that the two richest men in America, Bill Gates and MORE
Jun 16, 2010 7:00 AM ET
