Kissinger Associates
Kissinger Associates, Inc., founded in 1982, is a New York City-based international consulting firm, founded and run by Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft. The firm assists its clients in identifying strategic partners and investment opportunities, advising clients on government relations throughout the world. Known for its secrecy, its specific activities are not public knowledge.
History
The firm was founded in 1982 by Henry Kissinger. In 1999 Mack McLarty joined Kissinger to open Kissinger McLarty Associates, the firm's office on Eighteenth and Pennsylvania streets in Washington, D.C.[1] McLarty was White House Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton. Kissinger McLarty is a corporate member of the Council of the Americas, the New York-based business organization established by David Rockefeller in 1965.[1] As of January 2008, the two firms have separated and McLarty Associates, headed by Mack McLarty, is an independent firm based in Washington.[2]
Kissinger Associates is located in River House on Park Avenue at Fifty-first Street, in a building also occupied by Peter Peterson's Blackstone Group.[3] It was established in July, 1982 after loans had been secured from Goldman Sachs and a consortium of three other banks. These loans were repaid in two years; by 1987 annual revenues had reached $5 million.[3]
Associated organizations and individuals
Kissinger Associates has had strategic alliances with several firms, including:
- APCO Worldwide, formed October 12, 2004 [4]
- The Blackstone Group,[5][6]an investment and advisory firm
- Hakluyt & Company,[7] a strategic intelligence and advisory firm
- Covington & Burling, the international law firm, since 2003.[8]
Prominent staff have included:
- L. Paul Bremer, former managing director. Former Iraq Director of Reconstruction.
- Nelson Cunningham, political advisor and managing partner at Kissinger McLarty
- Lawrence Eagleburger, former United States Secretary of State[9]
- Richard W. Fisher - President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
- Timothy F. Geithner - United States Secretary of Treasury
- Jami Miscik - President and vice chairman. Deputy Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency.
- Joshua Cooper Ramo - Managing Director, former senior editor of Time Magazine
- Bill Richardson, former Senior managing director. Former U.S diplomat and immediate past Governor of New Mexico.
- J. Stapleton Roy, vice-chairman. Senior U.S. diplomat
- Brent Scowcroft, former vice-chairman. Former United States National Security Advisor.
Directors have included:
- Lord Carrington, from 1982.[10] Secretary-General of NATO
- Pehr G. Gyllenhammar, from 1982.[10] Chairman, Volvo
- William D. Rogers, from 1982.[10] Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs under Gerald R. Ford
- Eric Roll, from 1984.[11] Chairman S. G. Warburg & Co
- William E. Simon, from 1984.[11] Secretary of the Treasury under Nixon, Ford
- Saburo Okita,[12] former Japanese Foreign Minister
- Étienne Davignon[13] Former European Commissioner.
- Gary Falle, Falle Strategies
Client base
Kissinger Associates does not disclose its list of corporate clients, and reportedly bars clients from acknowledging the relationship.[12] However, over time details from proxy statements and the tendency of senior businessmen to talk about their relationship with Kissinger have leaked out and a number of major corporate clients have been identified.[14]
The secrecy of their corporate client list has caused problems where Kissinger or a member of his staff were called to public service. In 1989, George H.W. Bush nominated Lawrence Eagleburger as his Deputy Secretary of State. Congress required that Eagleburger disclose the names of 16 clients, some of which were his through his Kissinger Associates affiliation.[15] Later, Kissinger himself was appointed chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States by George W. Bush. Congressional Democrats insisted that Kissinger disclose the names of clients. Kissinger and President Bush claimed that such disclosures were not necessary, but Kissinger ultimately stepped down, citing conflicts of interest.
A selected list of the more notable companies (from over two dozen in total) since 1982;[14] his directorships where applicable; and some countries where known advice/contacts were used:
- American Express - Director (Hungary, Japan)
- American International Group - Director, International Advisory Committee (Argentina, China, South Korea)
- Atlantic Richfield
- Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) - Chairman, International Advisory Committee
- Coca-Cola (Malaysia)
- Fiat
- Freeport-McMoRan - Director (Burma, Indonesia, Panama)
- Heinz (Ivory Coast, Turkey, Zimbabwe)
- Hollinger, Inc. - Director
- Lehman Brothers Kissinger McLarty Assoc. is listed as a creditor in the Bankruptcy Filings.
- Merck
- Volvo
- Warburg
Bibliography
- Niall, Ferguson, Kissinger: 1923-1968 , New York: Penguin Press, 2015.
- Isaacson, Walter, Kissinger: A Biography, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992, updated 2005.
References
- 1 2 "Council of the Americas Member: Kissinger McLarty Associates". Council of the Americas.
- ↑ http://www.maglobal.com maglobal.com
- 1 2 Isaacson, Kissinger, p.732.
- ↑ "Kissinger Associates, APCO Join in Strategic Alliance". APCO Worldwide. October 12, 2004.
- ↑ "Strategic alliances". the Blackstone Group.
- ↑ http://ir.aigcorporate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=76115&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=231037&highlight
- ↑ Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson (April 10, 2001). "Survey - Corporate Security: The top players in intelligence industry". Financial Times.
- ↑ Sarasohn, Judy (October 2, 2003). "Making an Alliance Official". Washington Post.
- ↑ John Kerry & Hank Brown. "BCCI and Kissinger Associates". The BCCI Affair. United States Congress.
- 1 2 3 Oberdorfer, Don (August 24, 1982). "Kissinger's New Team". Washington Post.
- 1 2 Gilpin, Kenneth N. (June 1, 1984). "Eagleburger Is Joining Kissinger Associates". New York Times.
- 1 2 Gelb, Leslie H. (April 20, 1986). "Kissinger Means Business". New York Times.
- ↑ "Etienne Davignon delivers the plenary address on the third day of EITC 97". European Union Publications Office.
- 1 2 Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography, pp.730-751.
- ↑ Gerth, Jeff (May 20, 1989). "Disclosure Sought From Policy Group". New York Times.