Announcing “The Benny” – Investment U’s New Annual Award

by Mark Skousen, Chairman, Investment U
Monday, November 14, 2005: Issue #486

I am happy to introduce an exciting annual award here at Investment U: The Benny – The Benjamin Franklin Award for Wealth Creation. And we need your response to determine the winner!

Why name our IU “wealth creation” award after Ben Franklin? Having been a lifelong follower of this Founding Father, I can give you several reasons:

• First, he is America’s original entrepreneur. Among his many accomplishments, Franklin was first and foremost a businessman who created the first media empire in America. As editor and publisher of the highly popular Poor Richard’s Almanac, he was America’s first financial guru. His pamphlet, The Way to Wealth, was the most popular “how to” book in American history.
• He is counted as one of the 100 Wealthiest Americans (see the Crib Sheet for details). He arrived penniless in Philadelphia in 1723 at the age of 17, but by the time he died in 1790, at the ripe old age of 84, he was financially independent. In short, he was one of the great wealth creators in America.
• He practiced what he preached: “Industry, Thrift, and Prudence” were his three guiding principles in life, as outlined in his classic work, The Autobiography, the most influential memoir ever written.
• Franklin was also an inventor, coming up with the Franklin stove, bifocals, the lightning rod, a musical instrument and daylight savings time, among others. And he never took out a patent for his inventions, wanting to share his technology with everyone.
• Franklin was a premier leader in business and civil affairs, a natural manager of people and companies, and embraced a strong set of morals and uncompromising work ethics.

On a personal note, I am a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin, and am delighted that Investment U has decided to name its IU Award after this great Founding Father. For the past year, I’ve been working on a very special project, completing Franklin’s famous autobiography. Tragically, Franklin died without recording the final 33 years of his life, which made him a famous man (signer of the Declaration of Independence, first ambassador to France and delegate to the Constitutional Convention).

Now, Franklin is back… in living color. His Compleated Autobiography will be published soon after Thanksgiving. I’ll have more to announce soon about this book and how you can order it.

It’s only fitting, then, that the IU Benny Award will go to an individual who has done the most to create wealth in the past year (2005), much in the way that Ben Franklin did throughout his life. And wealth here will be defined as “value added” to the global economy, as determined by shareholders, consumers and citizens.

The winner of the 2005 Benny will be announced in February 2006, and the prize will be presented at a special banquet at the upcoming Investment U conference March 15-19, 2006, at the Delray Beach Marriott Hotel (see today’s Crib Sheet for details).

The winner will receive $10,000, to be donated to a favorite charity.

Nominations are now open. You can choose among the following three nominees, or you can make your own choice.

Here are the three leading candidates (all from the private sector) for the 2005 Benny:

John Mackey, president/CEO of Whole Foods Market, the world’s fastest-growing natural foods company. His company has grown at the astonishing rate of 17% (annualized) over the past 10 years. John won the 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and with good reason. He has not only dramatically enhanced the profitability of his company, but he has espoused a positive new brand of business that favors employees, customers, suppliers, management, shareholders and the community.

Whole Foods Market promotes wholesome eating habits (if you haven’t been to a Whole Foods store in your area, I urge you to do soYou will be pleasantly surprised.) The company also raised more than $600 million for hurricane relief this year. For more information on Whole Foods Market, go to http://www.wholefoods.com. John has also recently created his own non-profit organization to reach out to idealistic youth on the virtues of the free market and social democracy. To read more about this worthy project, go to http://www.flowproject.org. (I’m a contributor.)

Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay. eBay has transformed America and the world, offering millions the opportunity to buy products cheaply and create thousands of successful entrepreneurs. With his newfound wealth, Omidyar announced last month that he is donating $100 million to a new Tufts University program of “micro credit” – to finance entrepreneurs trying to escape poverty in India, Bangladesh and other poor countries.

Microcredit is a realistic alternative to unworkable government programs. A generation ago, it was invented in Bangladesh by Muhammad Yunus, who has helped hundreds of thousands of extremely poor people become independent through his Grameen Bank. (I’ve met Professor Yunus and highly recommend his book, Banker to the Poor.) Now, Mr. Omidyar is joining the fight. For more information, go to http://pierre.typepad.com.

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers. Steve has probably done more than anyone to reinvigorate a computer company that was stagnating. He ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, but it wasn’t until the Macintosh came along that Apple really succeeded. Artists, web designers and filmmakers everywhere are grateful for Steve’s innovations. So, too, are music lovers who live by the new generation of iPods, and families who have enjoyed the delightful Pixar animated films, such as Toy Story and The Incredibles. Last year, Apple Computers tripled in market value (it was Forecasts & Strategies’ top performer). For more information, go to http://www.apple.com.

Investment U subscribers make the choice. Vote for any of the three above, or make your own selection by December 1, 2005.

Good trading, AEIOU,

Mark

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