MacArthur the Conservationist Saved a Lot of Trees (PB Post-Times) 1-7-78�.N.
by A N . � '*
�nw
►�� C N Ole-
mAld AwArthur 0
me"npoly with tow, S of Mal
e wok' W..
"1:
His life resembled the � l rt, n iV.
r*
uft'
Go" wii.th his birth , 1 4 Sty
the low -rent Pri� uir One hOlft
t
q
i-tsld Pt the v that
bad
1 ant& him in hip ehil until he W , at the `�
ca Ile life.
e card r ar arat
's es �� s we.- Of,
nw_cz: `� t.wc remaining' Ii i Now theere
hh,
�. l�udi��
����� -� Daniel ��
< 1. giver starter Outt� �. � t ���,��. q
n forts. t v with it7
never ��� � price tag ��L � -
cA.rthu�- . said irt. a Cam .x 86 d wnient f 5£ .
shortly bpfor roke in the faU of 1 .,Nf
1 .e never f liv r ver � from the eever miok t
which was covered up for w0ekIv hY AS w'hr i is
he id�st�� P Cub= a� was suffering
frorn
:�.�
Fo� a while he wenn to a sp bh th apittt it
when l -se got frustrate at his rate of covery. It was �
hard for him to talk. nye days he Wke clearly, but
had to be Carelu)ly thOught Oult, Other f
t
day S, f -s WaS barer` a drhle,P
Mit` mind Works. fa�t.ey' tharA �, ty� he
t W oM. onth of�er ire . rele�s from. his three-week
h pltzl stint last vea
healthier after the stroke 04
before. He dropped his three -pack.- a -&y cAgarette habit -
and gained some weight. His oneal-astwen cheeks gainW
color Far-rj� artist l _ oy Neiman hi hfi t the ill
lic)naire's 1Y,ned fact with pink when he &,etches hism, it
Dun
But the effects of the stroke were still there.
Has rifht hand neer regained fill sUi,,,ength. His Big-
Use-
ig-U d tss s ali ilhor--doilar dear — h
i carefuhy drawn, let.t.ey by let.te! as ,hCKA
He wca ld t.i i� the ��e i� s t he i v r iost. hg�,
ns . cif h. ce al a loved t joke, Armand.;
had FwVe �WSOV tried W -fore abd Uiem ley c * pr uc-
4
Hit praicticew cane uniWer sharpanti '. BetwcT r
W� andV Arthur was iinvestigated by insurance
f 4l
int'' Florida State Insurargee, Department
.MmAdAlaur and EWAers Life og any improper
fi&el-rusft OLAIVIfies allier que-Stio inn television CA) -
' rcltai none by coin ipentat r Paul Harvey without `a
iloris. licenwe to sell in-ourance .
SHS ce Harvey vras paid by A&C W plug ave t.ifge_rs
and riot the company dir -ctly, the de .�4art errt found no
fault.: Harvey, a close friend of i cArthu.r's, is a trust-
ee of the foundation which norw controls Bankers Life.
<ll► n nogenius," MacArthur said k"lortly before his
stroke. man never bu4it acnyt.hirW, worChwhile by
himself. l was just fortunw enough to contact the
I right people. I have a great wife and' without her, I
ouid never have made it."
t' acArthwr w
ti -"L
the sole stockholder of Bankers
Life until C ,_Ilober 1974 when he resigned as presiders"
and put ati. the shares into a tax-exempt charitable
foundation. He becarne, chairman of the board and chief
executive officer, narning Catherine, his son and Har -
0 Vey as foundat.ior, trustee
r.
"It, should i nc:� wonder to you f use this rnan'
pica �;A° to shave boy°." ave 4t said at MacArthur `s 80th
birthday celebration, iri Chic°agcy ' `He's buttered' the
I`P v. a f� � i� r
tuast for the Harveys go n on third generation, a,tion, now
A.nd unashamedl as long as I can, will sit at his fee..
acrd lea much as I'm able to absorb.
Every March, Bankers. Life has held a "Moral for
Mar -Arthur'` durinp which sales ei-� strived four them
best month of sales in honor of "the Skippf_-,-rY birtlj-
da v .
But Bankers Life -is just one of i.,3 insurance com.
panies the ownea:l. His collection included: Bankers INILO' .
tiple. Life Insurance C<o. ; Certified Life., Insurance Co. of
Californic:: Constitution Life Insurance Co_- Marquette
Life Insurance Co.; Protection Mutual Insurance Co. 0f
Pennsylvania-, utheasterr Title and Insurance Cc..-,
Gotham Life Insurance of Neel York-, Limon Bank-
ers Insurance Co.; Western, American Life Insurance
Co. and Western Leff' As urance Co. of i amfltori. Ohio.
Insurance wash t MacArthur's on!., Inter e" e
owned about 3 other coryapanies -. 100,0 acres of land
in, Florida', land in Ilfinois, Arizona, Georgia; Colorado,
Michigan and Wisconsin: hotels golf c°our``sf-:s , paper:
Mills, farms, 61 buildings in New York City aleri� , util firms;-
tv oil welis; real estate firms-, restaurants; a ca;
rental fire and a liquor, firr-n whinamed a bottle of
W
hisky after hia
t` Big and Uttie Munyon island.1s. in the lw.racoastalk
saterwav, were his. So was 2,5 miles of oceat. to lake-
front property running from.! the Riviers Beact:� cite
limits north to Lost free Vihagc.
e vas also the sole stockholder of C t' ens anl?.
ared gust Co., which i.:; Ilfinoissecond targe .t baniti
C And the_ list goe, cpE
W'hein. MacArthur visite Chicago iast Mafch° has
erg&ployee world point Gut, various buildings a lane
i
he owned, saying- " ' own this bufudi ° Or Y o
own, that block' ° as they drove through the
I He", Owned
n the
gt-0 Cou!,i�r'Club in �am. Beache
Gardens. In fact° , there %-ias no Palm, Be.aoh Gardens
before MacArthur, He, developed the town. in .1 59, the
same year he came t.o Florida He wantee. ars inter-
change to his new communi ety when Florida's Turnpike
was being. constructed and wher the state said the
I ulation wasnt. larger enough 4) warrant one. he agree -d'
to pay fe,)r it himself. The $4,W,0Kr expenditure is said to
have increase: the value of his land holdings by mil
lions. sl� still owned most of the undeveloped land wesy.
of the, city at the time of hes dealth
Around the state, he. had a 10,300 -acre calt,le and
citrus ranch in Highlands County where he would es-
cape occasionally for relaxation, 32.000 acres in Sarawu-
ta County, and about 10,000 acres In the Orlando area.. -
di bOu ht a lot more land than I n e in Rosi s>.
and I wont live: long enough develop al of it." he
pry ict'e d in, 1976
6 mW t
MacArthur always lived simply Untli lie moved CC"
his Colonnades Beach Hotel on Singer Island in 1966, he
a"d Catherine lived in a small, modest hone U,� Lake'
Pari;
His two-story aparunient with ars oceari f
the side patio was comifortably, but modestly furrs:�she .-
T hi wfo, back had a cover over It to sI- Ve it f r,rjrn wear.:
He ilidnA like d` ni up and most of the time
c� a spru, *irt arWslacks, When he wore a e( t, it
Was Omally hk Ftaivo e"n Life jacket, made. frorn hi
farnilvrs m notch tartan. The � �ket
Y's � �- ��°e the
fa�iiy crf t, 1rhe m t.� rial ca ke from, a fabrics rrAli E
owed in the Carohna-si
me hiRkmaire was 79Y ears old the-. first arod or y
trona he ever wore tjails : 71ne 'r�si q jamas a te1evi
ablate diem at the, Reuse for the queue of
fie- is the Most -oftinlon of uflcoE spoil 11114rl.'
,f his Bazars Life employees once sai,
He didn't have a iane�y office, and didn't want one
Most of h is deafings were done at a corner table un thy,
Coionn :: ek coffee. shop. Beside the- table are two
telephones he ue constantly, one a national WATT
iwe his chair., a pot of coffee sty;: warming on a
burrer, re dy for reach. Ple drank mors than 20 c ups
day.
lie had no fear of being kidnaped, brushed off the
idea of having b-fAy uards and drove himself wherever
he wanted tit) gor.
In Ir7l , MacArthur sold the FBI had discovered an
alleged plot. to kidnap himn for ransom, but he refused
protection and joked amt the incident
Therexs no defense against a madman. And they'd
know that nobody 'd put up any rig% nWy f,.- mr Thi o!-Ik:
way so e0fle could get something from me would be to
go out and dig up the land, the count:ly's biggest land-
holder said smiling
Cance some Bankers Life employ -:-os worried about,
his safety and sent a mars down faroin Chicago to keep
ark evc� on the insurance magnate. but as Bankers Life
President Bob Ewing recalled, MacArthur discovered
tfae man right away and sent hirFn packing
Fasted 40te wptw loot
The peppery billionaire prided himself on living up
to the Scoltc- reputation for beim frugal. It's what
helped make him first a millionaire and then a bilhorr
aim,
Scotsmen are supposed to be very} tight ---- cheap is
a better word for it . I've nes°erk denied it l inherited it
My fither was a Scotsynan even if he was born in' New
York, City three days after the boat landed,'' MacArthur
OnCe said ''Anywhe sornething car: he put to good use.
I nm tickie
He always flew tourist. On a f"il ht to Chicago t6;
celebrate his 80th birthday, he leaned over and asked
the stranger- next. to hi.rr, if lie was ;doing to, eat has
untouched piece of pecan pie Assured r was unwanted
he ginOrly wrapped it in a napkin, iooke to see if a
stewardess waw; watching and stuffed it in his travel
bad=,
His loyal top e: Eployyees at Bankers Life srn,'Ie wher,
!E'y' tell tabes of "t1 A §kipper' ` saving fruit from hots
r0 -0m baskets
His Chicago birthday celebration in March was no
exception to what had �ecoine a way of life F`rorbl hl .
plate at a mor n.ang banquet for snore than 4W ernploi,
c=es, fie scraped leftover bacon and sausage into a c lotf,
napkin and shprwd the. bundle} into hes green piald la:: k
Several gears ago, when one of his Palen Beach
holdings --- 'th,-4 Everglades Hotel was beim torr
d{own. lie= stopped t.o pick up a soft, drink bottle. MITI
nrienting he r1ould turn it in for 2 cert:,
law to tc, ll people- ' T rrb ` eot cl- ,
Pleaso -T roe%
In the 19700 MacArthur lovt-d to play lawyer
find had, great nu r; representing himself when called or.
the carpel tq,,Y tho county or a municipality for zoning
building or health regulationv
His come otos--tri tri f- - winner irnag2Y too
low( --,,d him into the courtroom
Once in 11971. he decided to be rw:- own. lawver when
hauled into P'aim Beach Gardens Nlunlcipal Coa-t bilt-
Caust, his en-tpiovees fa -fled to obtain a Permit to, cut
through (a city street The city ordinance provided f.'(Yr ii.
ayl;� in jaii for viol t�(-Yn 01 (
a
sentence o" lk )0 an. d , or 90 d
leaed;
the aw. MacArthui pdgi
-Hoy k,would you respond to dri offer of a neeoli'ltf-'
plea of guilty and a tine of asked Munl/.Ipai judo.t-
K'Ugene F gle
'I'll spht the difference with you Niake It $t2).
Ar
go., a deal." acArthur said after cohsidf-.-
ing the offe for several seconds The i - udge
`You can't crowd your luck,'' MacArthur cc rnmented'
He flew in frorn Chl'cago In March 1972 to represent
hirnseff at a hearing be -fore the county's Envilrorimmer-Aall
('Ontrof- Hearing and The ',Plalth Department l
chal-ged that the hotel's kitchen waste was being dis-
Charged through the Palm Beach Shores stonTi drainage
System He was foum, In violation
Baw-k in the late 1960s when MacArthur was having
legal problerns with Pallyni, BeacL Shores, Town Atn,
An g us il --"arnpbell deser-lbed the situatiors &E, ''a big mar.,
versus- a sm-all town
MacArthur always wanted to be In the swing of
things end loved. to push; aside ernployees — whe.thei
attorneys or gareleners-, -- to do the jolb 1M.'rns0f
Th.ere vt.,,as the Urne right around his 'fth Nrthdat%,;
that smoke was discovered An one Of take HCMS at the '
Colonnades Yeash Hotel, Hv covered his be -ad, with a
rawled alq-;V�W, I -
wet towel and c& the fi(*r to ie84 a br I fade
(,-qbf fire fighters dog n. a smt,* e-filhed -way to a. rooms
where a small. fire did about $11,N) worth of darnwa@*�-
Therf t1tere was the re -c -over'. of ffip fa'fed103--carat
De-a[,onf n1bv in 1W," MacArthur t,iiavwd the key role
A -w-hivh °s4'::6w ow ramom A io"Y
ed tai the rew of ftgem mi-ap a Imp in a tolo-
ph,mle mat st :the Ware WA, reban, P,- to, the
n blig. wMice. and
�_��yr4�iq �he put u . the tuone V9
W , deductim,kafArthur weat to %e Ole* 9f 'Jerry
to bank in I
Tlkcswwr otairmam of Use board of MrSt MV1
i isBook and handed the MIMOY tc A fala nce
writer wbe sorvW as go-betvtmw h4% theOxch"ge.
Cme. of.. the bUbmire's favorite jobs WAS'UV109 trees
doomed for antructiork.
la 1061, be voceived as Wh be-
rwuw a 764M 54-fea b"Yan ft" xW moved it i
ta the eaLum of P#ft B"& 08rdens, A cable
%UppW wbIle it was aaeft a rWkvW trwk bT to c`
t
ja t1W middle of m Was left MD—
W ulacwh E!T a wee - Life MOO" To 0, pidum of it.
Uxt year, wArthur saved a Ng banyan i
that waz% about to be tom down and moved it to Wl e;
eittrarAce of one of his north co my deveWpments.
And thers there were towering royal palhrrt
trc,*s thatnetuded to make way for progress, He moved
thing f-om Palm Beach to his JDM Country Club in
Palm Beach Gardens. In May, he relocated Some giant
0Y V? the Colonnades
Norf % biland pines in. the backyard of
R-eap-h Hotel,
Tbae, el(jerlhy bi'Ahona're loved to Sul*rvig-e the Prc-
ec ts, s ta n wo rg g in the hot sun for hoortv., advising his
me&n, wn where the trees shousid go:
He did JohnnyApp0ieseeedv one bette--,,.-
Pled Piper of Uric CaurU
MacArthu-,rr was like the Pied Piper wh en. it came to
at' -tacking lawsuits. Newspapei., fifles are stuffed with ar.-
Counts, "John MacArthur Staed for $100,000," "Mackk,,-
thug Sued Over Promisso-r-Y Note," "PGA Files Suit V
MacArthur, " "Bilhonalfte, Sued &,,,er U -sed Goods:,
:.Evicted
4Evicted Widow Sue -s — Asks M.—iffilons From Tycoon,"
"Libel, Slander Solt by Faristi Cites MacArthur,"
"Supreme Court Rules in Favor of MaeArLhuz. "
In Novemhher, he settled a lawsuit broughA. against
hirn over the purchase of Frenchnnan's Creek develop-
ment west ork Juno Reach by haanding over a cashier's
check for $1 milhon.
The money went to Universal Profile Inc. for- back
payment of stock MacArthur allegedily agreed to buy in
the development-. He claimed he was "conned" in, the
ewa I
is of the most controversial cases he has ttern
involved in- began in 19-72 when he evicted Adeline K.
Moffett, once orne of the worlds richt women, for
failing to pay rent or, IWa-nnanth Palm beach apai
ment he owned.
rhe elderly widow of the late chairman of the
board of. Stanaard Oil of N".- ,lerget..- wort an $80,OX!
judgment stemr-ning, fro.rs water damage tit) antique fUt-r.
niture she claimed war, destroyed when the a-pariment
r00f ieaked, un 11%96t and from back injuries she said I
resufted. from slipping on the wet floor,
cial-nnig shre t�;as ,nnaficiously evicted and suffered
humiliation, Mrs Moffett, 79, sueda MacArthur fen,
In Mtay,.. the Flol-Ida Suprerne Court., by 'refusing W..
hear the case, upheld a, lower court order requiring., thy::
insurance r apnat.e to disciose in writing his nelf,". wo-rth.,eO,
The case has not yet gone to lrj�i.
M a r A Mh u r sald Lien he wasn't wall enough to
the work required Lo dei e-rinine the value (4 his hold-"
in s. He said in hate Se-ptember he wasn't going to COM. -
ply with the order
At -would, take a battery of act-,ounLi,,unts, n-,layblet 20,
workffig fulifirne for several B-110PAIIS t0 his
financial web. There are dozens and dozens of corpnarkk-
don-s i which he is the sole stockholder said Elmer
I
H-Olfflgrert, head of MacArthur's legal deppriment-
In a separate case, CiMuwt Nwrt Judge Vaughn
Rudnick ruied lest ;Jurge that MacArthukt ww(rudd have to,
answer, written questions- about wtieffier hr,- Wsaa e�j,
, V `1 . U dl
one of Joseph V. Farigh Ji"'s clients to drop Nm as a
lawyer .
W
Citijig MacArthur's poosr health, his attorney con-
vinced Rudnick the billionaire ought not. be forced to
testify in a $10.5 million. civil suit by Farish.
*41f a naan who awrw an empire such as his nip
d -w,% can hold court aW coWuct a btisiness mseet at, fo�,
two or three hours, be m certainly. We *& deposition,
llFariA.,' 's attorney argued unsuccessfuLl
OF
Fariob is suing MacAN
. Awr fit r arid fibt,19
saying he ripowle and wrote, letters to a womn
ins she drop Farlsh as heratt wit agaftngA
qmW -, a
e (m p w ti P, n c %,wt. im LM, a 0 toM wA r dh, a r,
In Aufust, chae, foderals goverrimnera , filed, a, $13 mik"-
lim.- laws -Wt, clalm-Aq%" MAck-thur and officer" -s of 1.2 cor-
porationParI ticipated, in fraudulent farad dealings or
Florida's West Coast.
The Department of Houging and Urban Develop-
mwent (HUD) filed chargo clai false. promiationa!
gimmnicks by devekirwrs of o11 develop-,
mient between Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach,
MacArthur's name was included as chairman of
Bankers life. Several Bankers Life subsidiaries alls-G.
were. named. )MacArthurderv,01 the charges along with
Bankers Life President, Robert Ewing
Acz '7 14
Animal Lover. _
He ;Y but always timefor
f ways i`a
animals
Happy and r Mai, his two silver miniature iel�,
have & run of his aparrtment A. tabip dr v ler is film
r with robber squeaky to he would hold up while the
dogs danced, and then tox across. t1he ro mld foo there to
C h a S ge .
Thie courtyard of the, Colonnades Beach Wortey I is g,
covered with ducks. Plump ducks, half-grown g ro iy
ducks, fuzzy little duckling:;, Ma(Arthur loved to watch f
them from his plicture window inn the coffersop. n
Ofte t fie would stop a coriversati.on to point out a,
line of little ducklings he&ding to a r -an—m de- pond f o :
drin'K He saved tbem bread a di table scraps f ron.
bre kta,st and iurvl-z4.
Once he helped rescue a beached wi)ait:
an 1.964, he trie...a W save Warren, a wounded seg
Cow. 13,octnrs orpearated in a caziai on the sea cow whier
had t enashedii by a boat propeller, but. Warren dinar,
peared, and doctors twhevd be die6
When acArt ua- found t.irne to escape t,o his
Island Ranch acro,ssz Lake Okeechobee for! relaxation
he would pla ` with the dogs and eves; spend time pt.
ting the bulls and txying tq h rtd feed theiyE .
He didn't. want; people to think trim philanthrool'.%' .
tet o e of his pet, ch ritieS was thf-- ���i � r
League:
a Y
The announcement came in Aup t..
seas man who five years earlier had evicted Uie l'k-v_
fes ion i Golfert, Asp tit: (PGA) from itF Palm
Seach Gardens home, had agreed to sell 2,3W! acres for
the aswiat.ion's new home.
The land, estimated to Ix valued at atbouE ik..
lion... is bounded by the turnpik€� o tip east. � :
. )uievard or, the north Cana' CIS on thpweO ant'
Jj
Nort.l la e oule�p rd on the south
The PGA is plaiining three c s.. � P gcll-.
courses., headquaf tern, tall of fame clhubhousie and un
versity and education, center wn the pro rty
Ironically. MacArthur had b ,fig the is dig rd for t p.
PGA from I.W. through March t 'a". Hie Y-Ved an evv..
tion notice on the PGS_ in November 19 2 over k. con
t.ractua! dispute and the, following spring thc-, headquar-
ters of the nrational or a iza iW wel-le moved to another
MacArthur's rsoxt, maior 6eal, carie in- (.moto r. �;e
fia� li t � al of lit ore Hotel. a. Pairs Beaclf
landmark.to developer to le J: Hart for. . 4 r-q
ac- r iur 6ought the motel in I Io for $1.5 mikhar
and Hare— to i d to acquire it shortly thereafter, only to
have the deal fall t. rough just fors the i��s� �X �
this cin-let the cagy MlacArftur failed to show at the
first date set for the ekin.
Harte siglhec with relief. whiten the exc e, fina-IIN
took place hfacAfthur tucked a c i r`F c=heck or
$=09WO as a down payment in. his pocket a'iu I��n
when a waitress in this hotel: walked b -shrug � �� r
a
shoulders and remarking � `Anothera1 fk-o II..
far: }