European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tough times Tor Texas billionaires daily Magazine by Wayne King new York times Nelson Bunker one of the Texas that a billion dollars is not what it used to at the about four years he had about although no including was quite inasmuch As another favored Hunt aphorism that any Man who knows exactly How much Money he is Worth int Worth very Nelson and his Herbert in had so much of it that they once tried to Corner the Market in but recently the Banks were bouncing their or at least the checks of one of their Many a subsidiary of the Hunt International resources the Hunts Are not it seems to be a Tough time for Texas millionaires or rather a Tough time for Texas said William chief economist for the Republic Bank in two other multimillionaire Cullen Davis and Clint went into bankruptcy court last and others among the Texas Rich have had to sell off or relinquish once attractive the reasons vary from Bank account to Bank and no one seems prepared to venture More than a guess about Why these seem to be hard times for the very i have to know about a lot of said who is senior vice president As Well As chief economist at but i dont know anything about Bil they live on a different Side of but those who do venture an opinion suggest that the first shoe dropped within a few months of the Oil Down turn in with the collapse of relatively new Compa Nies and individuals with thin capital very Little track record and heavy dependence on particularly drilling and the other they has dropped for companies and individuals with enormous resources but heavy dependence on Oil and real Hunt International for exam owned by the trusts of Herbert and Nelson Bunker is involved in sugar ranching up photo and Nelson have gotten into red and none have fared Well with the corrosive decline in Oil and land prices and the drop in the sugar recently Hunt International informed the securities and Exchange commission that it was in default on million in the tide of red Ink led several Banks to Stop honouring some paychecks of a Hunt International the great Western sugar which in turn has two sub the Northern Ohio sugar and the god Chau Henderson sugar Robert Hunt internationals general said that All three subsidiaries had filed for Protection of assets under the Federal bankruptcy White said he was not aware of details of the Compa nys financial but acknowledged that the pay Check problem would now be handled through the last another Hunt International subsidy great Western United went into voluntary bankruptcy and no one is predicting that the who occupy prominent places on Fortune magazines list of Ameri Cas richest Are going but along with Lamar another of the offspring of the Oil Wildcat Ter and billionaire who died in the Brothers have suffered extraordinary reversals in recent the aborted Silver cornering May alone have Cost More than the Hunt family financial problems Are exacerbated by government claims that they owe More than million in Back taxes dating to the Hunts have filed a number of lawsuits contesting the in the commodity futures trading com Mission last month accused Nelson and Herbert along with of illegally manipulating the Silver Market in 1979 and if substantiated in administrative the Hunts could lose the right to Trade in commodities the through their have denied any violations and say they will be the Hunts have declined to comment on their Finan Cial but in a statement in Herbert Hunt said lower inflation rates and the potential for an upturn in Energy related businesses made for a very positive a considerably less flamboyant but also financially troubled Texas Clinton Williams Murchison former owner of the Dallas cowboys of the National football made plans to sell his North Dallas Home and 25acre estate and move into smaller quarters after a forced filing for bankruptcy last according to creditors who met in Dallas Murchison owes million to who sold the cowboys for million last May to help stave off appeared to have run aground on the Shoals of a shattered real estate like the Murchison inherited a Fortune from a father who was an enormously successful wild Catter in the Days when Oil came in although he built on that Fortune and was regarded As a shrewd Murchison in recent years apparently overextended himself by borrowing for real estate Many of which went sour As the Market sob Story on embassy by Maureen Dowd new York times this is not an International sob were not yet at the one West Ger Man academic said where were All sleeping on grates outside the state depart but these Are trying for washing tons Large foreign from ambassadors to embassy Row from foreign correspondents to foreign Exchange talk is of cutting expenses and recasting consumer habits As the robust Dollar continues to Drain away the buying Power of other Curren we have less Money in our pockets and it does make life More said Luis amorim de a coun Selor at the embassy of when i have dinner parties at my instead of i serve Cornish countess Ulla the wife of the swedish ambassador and one of the cites top says that As the swedish Krona has lost value against the Dollar she has Learned to i Cut my own branches from my Garden that dont Cost anything to decorate at dinner she we try to organize ourselves to have less i go to upholstery stores and can find leftovers of Beautiful Chintz that i can sew into a Ball dress for Wash my hair at Home instead of going to we try to Cope and we Hope one Day the Dollar goes she meanwhile we have fun being Crea while it is merely a matter of creative juggling for the top it is a More serious problem of credit stretching for the Lowe level staff and the amenities that once made washing ton the As Wellas the most glamorous of for eign postings have disappeared for Many who Are paid in the native we dont do anything anymore except paying rent and paying said Marie Therese an employee in the visa Section at the French Kennedy trips to new York All these things which make life Nice Here weve had to Cut although there Are provisions in employment con tracts to adjust for fluctuations in the Exchange there is a time lag of three to six months that leaves some staff workers in the financial Lawen has petitioned the embassy Hierarchy to adjust employees Sala Ries monthly to provide a More accurate reflection of the Exchange a French Diplomat said that when he first moved to Washington in 1981 his monthly rent was which at that time equated although the rent has increased Only in four to the Exchange rate is so bad that his Cost went up to Peter an official at the West German Zembas said staff members there had stopped skiing in Colo Rado in favor of and they have stopped buying the american cars they had preferred and Are importing duty free bows with a diplomatic Robert Andrew a Counselor at the British embassy said he had Given up shopping for clothes at Woodward Lothrop in Washington and now stocks up at Marks Spencer when he is Back in March 1985 he and his used to travel together on his business trips to new but she said she now takes the cheapest route possible because she has to pay her own he goes by air or and i go on the Ordi nary Peoples she but i save while Washington has not yet been designated a hardship some embassies have been adapting practices usually reserved for the third at the italian and French staff members have been pooling resources to buy duty free canned food and wines from its totally unusual for that to be done said Giovanni Caracciolo i an italian it reminds me of my last Post in the West German embassy has gone even officially forsaking the convenience of Safeway in favor of wholesale food importers from Europe that normally Cater to the diplomatic corps in poor Mende said the embassy imported two 40foot containers of such Staples As cheese and sausage last this year it increased the proportion of imported food to eight containers Gebhard a visiting West German said his biggest regret was being unable to turn the situation to his when i came the Dollar was hitting three Marks and i was reluctant to Transfer a Large amount of he but if i now i would be in a position to resell it at three and a half and make a neat Many foreign correspondents have become so strapped that they Are forgoing expense account lunches and trading copies of american newspapers rather than buying their the stars and stripes Page 13