HomeMy WebLinkAboutMillionaire publisher's creativity hasn't wavered with retirementGEORGE DELACORTE
... original ideas
Millionaire publisher's creativity
hasn t wavered with retirement
by RICHARD KAHN
Times Correspondent
LOST TREE VILLAGE = For
George T. Delacorte, originality
equals success.
"All you have to do is have ori-
ginal ideas -- that's how I made
most of my money," says Delacorte,
a pioneer in the publishing industry
in the United States.
With only $5,000 to start, De-
lacorte became the founder of Dell
Publishers in 1921. He was the first
to publim comic books and paper-
back boos in America and the first
to publ.1h magazines featuring
crossword puzzles.
Now he's a millionaire with a pen-
chant for original ideas in the field
of philafllhropy. A native of New
York, he has built several lavish
fountains throughout the city, includ-
ing . one in Times Square. He also
donated and built a . 2,000 seat the-
ater in Central Park and sponsors a
traveling, Shakespearean theater that
entertains in the parks and boroughs
of New York.
He admits it was not originality
alone that advanced his career, how-
ever.
"Luck is one of the greatest ele-
ments that controls your destiny,"
he said with a grin. "Genes aren't
all of it. Look at Benjamin Franklin.
He was one of 14 children and you
never heard of any of them."
Before he sold his company to
Doubleday so he could retire, he
worked with authors James Bald-
win, Kurt Vonnegut, and Irving
Shaw. But Delacorte says he (never
reads novels, only non-fiction like
history books and economic publica-
tions.
They interest him because of his
financial holdings and because of his
fascination with history.
"I think in 50 to 75 years we'll
have another civil war that will
make the last one look like nothing,
he says, .adding he does not see
blacks ever being fully integrated
into society.
"Blacks don't have the same op-
ize:
Rant
pest
writ-
rent -
for
7 . to
cuss
1 by
re-
ntal
and
be
n.
vas
of
by
portunity, the same home back-
ground. They live in ghettos. That's
not to say they are not as capable
(as whites). They just don't get the
opportunities."
During the winter, he lives in his
ocean front home at Lost Tree Vil-
lage, keeping up his tan. For an 88-
year-old man, he is deceptively spry
and alert.
"I still play tennis, doubles of
course," remarks Delacorte with a
smile.
He is fascinated by Roman archi-
tecture and European culture, which
has given rise to some of his ideas.
He saw his first comic book in
France, and instinctively knew they
would sell in America. But he had to
discontinue selling them after he
was forced to raise the price from
10 cents to 15 cents.
"Kids are the toughest customers
in the world," he says. "They will
go into a store with a few cents and
shop for hours. When I had to raise
the price a nickel they stopped buy-
ing them."
Throughout his career as owner of
Dell Publishers, he says he always
promoted women as much as men.
"Women are just as capable as
men, and are a lot more loyal when
they're working for you."
One trend in the publishing in-
dustry that worries Delacorte is the
increasing concentration of money
into a few major companies.
"I think it's exceedingly
dangerous. An advertiser will spend
money in the biggest paper he can
afford, ., and nothing in the small
ones. This is threatening the individ-
ual in the publishing industry."
Since retiring from publishing, he
has has concentrated on beautifying
his environment, aesthetically . and
culturally. He has -donated $600,000
to the village of North Palm Beach
for the building of a community cen-
ter.
"It bothers me that in a commu-
nity like Palm Beach, there isn't a
soul living in that town who has
donated anything for the cultural
benefit of the public. It's not right."
He still thrives on creativity and
in giving unusual gifts to the public,
but he has a word of caution to any-
one who wants to cultivate creative
potential.
"Your creative ability is like your
sex drive; it goes down as age goes
up.