federal government

"Analyzing the enormous range of major commitments Kaiser made between 1944 and 1946, one is struck by the fact that while many were outgrowths of months, even years of planning, others were almost whimsical. Insiders knew he meticulously planned a major effort to expand steel operations; and he hired automotive designers years before he plunged into the business in 1945. On the other hand, although he had explored postwar prospects in light metals, few in the organization foresaw the magnitude of his commitment to aluminum. The federal government opened a small window of opportunity in that field in 1946, and Kaiser and a few associates were brave enough to dive through. Had circumstances in half a dozen other fields been slightly altered, the organization might well have emphasized entirely different product lines in the postwar period. The years 1944 to 1946 thus marked a critical period, during which Kaiser made many of the commitments shaping the future of his burgeoning corporate empire."

"Larry Tisch’s attraction to the stock market, in 1958, didn’t mean his appetite for risk had grown. In fact, central to Tisch’s game was discovering, in a deal or a company, hidden value that no one else ap- predated—and gaining the upper hand early in the game. Such an opportunity had been evolving since 1952, when the federal govern- ment laid the groundwork for breaking up the movie giants that owned both studios and theaters."