Study of the Hegemony of Parasitism - michaeljgoodnight.com

"Increasingly sensitive to accusations of secretiveness, the privately held
Bechtel group of companies took a new step in implementing a policy of
disclosure today when it issued for the first time something approaching an
annual report. Since all stock is held by top executives and members of the
Bechtel family, this took the form of a report to the 30,000 employees around
the world rather than a report to stockholders."
The Times commented in 1982 that "Bechtel does not
disclose its earnings". Informed estimates are that
Bechtel earned 5% net profit on its $11.6 billion revenues
in 1982. Stephen D. Bechtel Sr., now in his eighties, is
said to be worth $750 million. His son, Stephen Jr. now
head of the firm, is said to be worth $250 million. When
his father dies, the younger Bechtel is expected to
become a billionaire.
Newsweek reported Dec. 29, 1975:
"The Bechtel group of companies is hardly a household word. As a privately
held corporation, it has operated for 77 years behind a wall of secrecy that is
considered unequally impenetrable in the competitive world of heavy
construction. Its revenues are estimated at $2 billion a year, equal to General
Mills or Standard Oil of Ohio. Bechtel got that way by wheeling and dealing
not only in private operations but with governments themselves. The
company is building a new 34 story building on Fremont St. in San Francisco.
The company, says one Federal energy official, is putting together a modern
version of a military industrial complex machine, and they have an inside
track on the growth market of the future. It will be called the new General
Motors before the century is out."
THE EARLY YEARS OF BECHTEL
Bechtel began in 1898 when a Midwestern farm boy,
Warren (Dad) Bechtel, came to California to seek his
fortune. He began with a mule team hauling dirt on small
construction projects. In 1918, with war prosperity, his