Sarnoff would be a book or 2 in & of himself...So would Cdr. Eugene F. McDonald, Jr, & the bitter rivalry between them...William Pailey was a a Character, & I've always found it interesting that radio, & especially Television, which is regarded as primarily an American invention, was actually developed in no small part by a bunch of Russian Jewish expatriates here in the States... Another theme that goes thru "Captains of Industry" types seems to be that you have one, sometimes two, men who were STRONG "Personalities"- bordering on what we'd consider flamboyant or even psychotic now. I guess there were colorless "Bean Counter" types who started companies, but who remembers them now ? Its ALWAYS the Sarnoffs, Paileys, Fords, Durants, etc we remember. Often as not, their personalities precluded them from MAINTAINING a successful enterprise, but they did have the blind ambition, luck, mulishness, and/or Stupidity to take crazy idea, kick it in the Arse, & RUN w/it...
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Benevolent Despot
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