How Elections Affect the Economy, Taxes and Stock Market - Investment (1992)

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Kenneth G. Langone (born September 16, 1935) is an American businessman and investor best known for cofounding The Home Depot. He has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion according to Forbes. Kenneth Langone was born in Roslyn Heights, New York, to working-class parents. His father was a plumber and his mother a cafeteria worker. As a student at Bucknell University, Langone worked various blue collar jobs, and was a butcher's assistant, a caddy, and a ditch digger. While at Bucknell, Langone became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. After graduating in three and a half years, Langone headed back to New York, this time to Manhattan instead of Roslyn Heights. There he attended New York University Stern School of Business at night while working full-time during the day. That part-time evening program now bears his name, and is known as the "Langone Program" at NYU. Following his NYU graduation, Langone began his business career. After some time, his launching pad was the IPO deal he set up for Ross Perot's company Electronic Data Systems. Building up his experience over the next decade, Langone began to study the home improvement business and eventually bought stock in Handy Dan, a home improvement chain. This led to a relationship between Langone and both Handy Dan CEO Bernard Marcus and CFO Arthur Blank. Although a minority shareholder, Langone effectively protected Marcus from issues that arose between Marcus and Sanford Sigiloff, the CEO of The Daylin Corporation, Handy Dan's parent company. Marcus, however, felt that if Langone sold his interest in Handy Dan, it may actually improve his relationship with Sigiloff. Shortly after Langone sold his Handy Dan stock both Marcus and Blank were fired. Langone organized financing for Marcus and Blank to found Home Depot. Now a national chain with over 300,000 employees, it is Langone's most notable business venture. Langone has attracted publicity with his attempted purchase of the New York Stock Exchange. Although the deal fell through, it raised Langone's stature on Wall Street and in the business community in general. He was a codefendant with Richard Grasso in the 2004 prosecution by Eliot Spitzer over a controversial package of $139.5m of benefits received by Grasso on leaving his post as chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, in addition to an estimated $10m annual pay.[6] The Exchange was operated as a non-profit enterprise, and so was subject to New York state laws governing remuneration within non-profit enterprises. Langone was, as a director of the Exchange and senior member of the remuneration committee, heavily involved in development of the pay package. On July 1, 2008, the New York State Court of Appeals dismissed the case. The majority opinion stated that, since the beginning of the case, the NYSE had become a subsidiary of a for-profit multinational corporation, and that pursuing the company in the matter was therefore "not in the public interest." He was elected as director of Yum! Brands effective October 7, 1997, and is a member of the Audit Committee. On July 8, 2010, Geeknet announced that Kenneth Langone was elected Chairman of its Board of Directors and is now serving as CEO. Langone served on the board of General Electric in 2001. Langone tapped Robert Nardelli to become CEO of Home Depot after Jeffrey R. Immelt was chosen over both Nardelli and James McNerney to succeed Jack Welch as CEO of GE. Langone also served on the board of Database Technologies, a position he filled at invitation of the company's founder Hank Asher. Asher claims Langone was responsible for his ouster. Langone was a cofounder and board member of ChoicePoint Inc. The Wall Street Journal discussed a pitch made by Bernard Madoff to Langone just before Thanksgiving 2009. Langone told the newspaper that Madoff said he was raising $500 million to $1 billion for his new fund for exclusive clients. Langone is a major Republican fundraiser. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_langone