Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars

Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (Full Version)

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Sanity -> Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/25/2008 10:15:19 PM)
Here's an interesting article. This fellow J.R. Simplot, who was born in 1909, bought up some IOUs owed to some teachers for .50 cents on the dollar, traded what he got for those IOUs from some bankers for some skinny pigs and eventually he made billions with the proceeds. The man helped feed countless families along the way, including mine - he was one of the best employers in the state, and today his organization reaches world wide and is involved in countless endeavors.

Bethnai -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/25/2008 10:36:24 PM)
What is taw? Is it slang for money, collateral, ability, 6 of one half a dozen of another? I never heard of the guy, and so I read the article they had from Esquire and he said: You can't borrow money without collateral. You have to have something to get started with. That's the problem: You got to have that taw. You shoot marbles? You shoot that taw marble because you can knock the other marbles out easier with it. Each man has his own taw, and if he gets good with that taw, he can knock the hell out of some marbles. And he can win, but he has to have strong fingers and the right aim. It's like anything else: You got to work at it.

Alumbrado -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/25/2008 10:40:57 PM)
A 'taw' is, like it says, the main shooter marble...in this context, something to start the ball rolling or collateral...it takes money to make money.

Sanity -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/25/2008 10:43:18 PM)
The way J.R used to tell the story, he paid a dollar each for the pigs. The way everyone else tells it, he stole those pigs. quote: ORIGINAL: Alumbrado A 'taw' is, like it says, the main shooter marble...in this context, something to start the ball rolling or collateral...it takes money to make money.

Level -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 4:49:46 AM)
Interesting stuff, Sanity, thanks for posting it. quote: “I'm just a dumb country farmer frankly. That's the truth.” Yeah, lots of "dumb" hicks stumble into billions.....[:D]

seeksfemslave -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 6:24:59 AM)
He seems to have been a bit of a rascal in his day but at least he got off his arse and, while creating genuine added value, provided employment for many. Wonder what the trendie, all corporations are always bad, lefties on this site have to say about that ? At 99 to die of Natural Causes, which I assume means his body just "gave out", is pretty impressive too!

Sanity -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 6:51:31 AM)
I used to see J.R. regularly around downtown Boise until the day he had a bad fall from his motorized wheelchair while leaving the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and was injured badly enough he had to be taken to a hospital by ambulance, and so apparently he never recovered from that. I'd chat with him on an elevator sometimes, he was nice as can be. He'd usually start the conversation. But yeah, he was quite the Capitalist - the jobs that man provided helped to lift the entire USA (and my own family) out of the great depression, helped feed our soldiers during WW II and beyond... and he's still providing good jobs, and food for the whole world. quote: ORIGINAL: seeksfemslave He seems to have been a bit of a rascal in his day but at least he got off his arse and, while creating genuine added value, provided employment for many. Wonder what the trendie, all corporations are always bad, lefties on this site have to say about that ? At 99 to die of Natural Causes, which I assume means his body just "gave out", is pretty impressive too!

LadyRainfire -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 7:14:19 AM)
J.R. will be missed around here, that's for sure. Sanity, I forgot that there was another local on the boards who might know about him. My family also knew him - we had potato farms out in the west Treasure Valley. Still have one for that matter. The times I ran into him in Boise, he was nice as could be, you'd never know he was one of the wealthiest men in the country. We used to go sledding on the hill during the winter when I was a kid.He was quite a character and did a lot for the area, the state and the economy. I wish there were more like him... [&o]

Sanity -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 7:24:23 AM)
I've had farmers tell me he was a brutal negotiator when it came to business though. Some didn't like him at all, in fact. The contracts he entered into with farms were very clever, and he was always looking out for #1, the bastad...

LadyRainfire -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 7:35:56 AM)
[:D] How do you think he got that $3.2 billion? We never had problems but then we never negotiated directly. The main thing is that he also put a lot of that money back into the community. Both he and Joe Albertson didn't just sit on their money and wave it in peoples faces. He might have been an ass at times but he was a generous ass. grins

Sanity -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 7:38:07 AM)
What you say is all true, they were both very generous. And they did a lot more good with their fortunes than the government ever could have, too.

Zensee -> RE: Parlaying Skinny Pigs and IOUs into $3.2 Billion Dollars (5/26/2008 8:02:47 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: seeksfemslave Wonder what the trendie, all corporations are always bad, lefties on this site have to say about that ? Why don't you ask one directly, if you can find one. Z.

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