FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES— THE BECHTEL STORY: THE MOST SECRET CORPORATION A ND HOW IT ENGINEERED THE WORLD LATON McCARTNEY SIMON AND SCHUSTER NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY TOKYO Copyright © 1988 by Laton McCartney All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form Published by Simon and Schuster A Division of Simon & Schuster Inc. Simon & Schuster Building Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020 SIMON AND ScHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc. Designed by M.B. Kilkelly/Levavi & Levavi Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data McCartney, Laton. Friends in high places I Laton McCartney. p. em. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Bechtel Group. 2. Bechtel, Stephen Davison, 1925-3. Engineers-United States-Biography. 4. Businessmen-United States-Biography. I. Title. TA217.B4M38 1988 338.8‘87-dc l 9 87-34562 [B) CIP ISBN 0-671-47415-4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Joni Evans, former president of Simon & Schuster, was the sponsor of this work. I cannot thank her enough for her unflagging graciousness, support and enthusiasm. John Ware, my agent and friend, also played a vital role in my undertaking and completing this project. To him also very special thanks are due. Others who provided invaluable assistance include Robert Sam Anson for support, editing and toughness that aided at every step; Van Metaxas for his diligent research, resourcefulness and good judgment; Nancy J. Balz for her research and support; Bill Berkowitz and his colleagues at the Data Center in Oakland, California, who always came through when needed; Mark Dowie for his generosity and encouragement; Tim Sharrock for his valuable assist; Marjorie Williams for her insights and suggestions; Paul Cane, Tom Flynn and Al Donner for having the courage to grant an outsider access and Mel Shestach, Larry Eno and Jerome Bakst. Others at Simon & Schuster who deserve thanks are David Shipley and Henry Ferris. Alice Mayhew, my editor at Simon and Schuster, worked diligently and offered her support and enthusiasm. Without her this project would never have been completed. To Nancy CONTENTS 1. The Grove 11 2. Dad 18 3. Boulder 29 4. Steve 43 5. The War Years 56 6. In His Own Image 71 7. Saudi Arabia 81 8. Lucky Man 94 9. Atoms for Peace 101 10. The Company and The Company 113 11. The Succession 126 12. Taking Command 135 13. Libya 143 14. A Friend in the W hite House 152 15. Secretary Shultz 165 16. Cap’s Period of Adjustment 174 17. The Arab Boycott 183 18. Nuclear Eclipse 197 19. Company Troubles 208 20. Powerhouse 219 21. The Next Generation 229 Notes 240 Index 258 CHAPTER l THE GROVE 0 n the last weekend in July in the year 1982, a chauffeur-driven Cadillac arrived in the exclusive Nob Hill section of San Francisco to pick up a solitary passenger. His name was Stephen Davison Bechtel, Jr., and to the few who may have seen him that sunny morning as he emerged from his luxury condominium across from Grace Cathedral and briskly walked the few paces to his waiting car, there was nothing to suggest he was anything but another businessman on the way to a weekend outing. Certainly, there was nothing to indicate that this casually dressed lean, balding figure in his late 50s, so unremarkable in appearance, was the leader of one of the richest, most powerful companies in the world. Which, as it happened, was how Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr., preferred it. The chairman of the Bechtel Group had a passion for anonymity, and he went to extraordinary lengths to preserve it. The details of his personal life were a carefully guarded secret. His condo and
