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
