Q: What effect has the October stock market crash had on HHMI? CHOPPIN: Thats a complicated question, which I’ll answer by saying it has probably had less effect on us than on many private philanthropic organizations because of the nature of our endowment. When the Hughes Aircraft Company, which was the only asset of the Hughes Institute, was sold to General Motors, the agreement was $2.7 billion in cash or cash equivalents, and 50 million shares of a new chas of General Motors stock. There was a complicated agreement with GM that included a guarantee in the price of the stock. The guarantee is that, if the stock is not selling at $60 on December 31, 1989, GM will make up the difference. So we have an underlying guaranteed price for the shares of GM stock that we own. On the other hand, that stock pays less of a dividend ...
Choppin On Hughes And Its New Ventures
Virologist Purnell W Choppin (pronounced "Sho-pan") took office September 1 as president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute at a time of great ferment. His predecessor, Donald S. Fredrickson, deported after a dispute involving controversial management and spending practices [see THE SCIENTIST, June 1, 1987, p. 2, and June 29, p. 1]. At the some time, as port of its agreement last spring with the Internal Revenue Service, HHMI has agreed to increase its financial awards, by on average of at leas
Written byTabitha Powledge
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