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To: The Barracuda™ who wrote (5609)	11/17/2002 5:35:11 PM
From: ahhaha	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24758

Nov. 9, 1997: WorldCom's Ebbers builds Mississippi muscle Politics may follow for telephone 'Ted Turner' By Reed Branson branson@gomemphis.com November 9, 1997 The corporate titans of the technology age aren't supposed to live in the backwoods of Mississippi. But Bernie Ebbers, a blue-jeans-and-boots CEO with a degree in physical education, is probably more at home in his double-wide manufactured home on his farm near Brookhaven than Manhattan or Silicon Valley. The onetime basketball coach's success at WorldCom, once a minnow in the ocean of telecommunications, is transforming one of the world's most important industries as well as the image of a state known more for cotton and catfish. ``He's the Ted Turner of the telecommunications industry,'' says Peter Bernstein, a New Jersey-based telecommunications analyst. ``And Jackson, Mississippi, is the hot bed of the communications industry.'' Ebbers, 56, stands well over 6 feet and cuts an imposing figure with his neat, white beard. And, time and again, he has proven to be unpredictable, ruthlessly practical, at times difficult and above all aggressive - whether in a drive to the basket or to the top of the Nasdaq. So it should not surprise anyone that even as Ebbers pushes a $30 billion all-stock buyout bid for MCI - what would be the largest-ever takeover in corporate America - he has inched closer to the public sphere, keeping alive speculation he may run for governor, perhaps as early as 1999. He could well afford it. Packing nearly 15 million shares of WorldCom, valued on paper at more than $500 million, Ebbers could finance a campaign on interest alone. And he has been politically active, albeit behind the scenes, giving hefty sums to Democrats and Republicans alike. In fact, WorldCom faced criminal charges in connection with one campaign fund-raising drive for a telecommunications regulator. But `Bernie,' as he is simply referred to in Jackson's lunchtime political speculation, eschews interest in his personal life and is a relative mystery in a state where family ties and social circles date back for generations. Company officials said he would not consent to an interview for this article. What is documented is the success of a man who arrived at a Jackson train station 32 years ago, too broke to hire a cab. He had to hitch a ride to a college in nearby Clinton. Technology guru George Gilder wrote last month in the Wall Street Journal, ``Mr. Ebbers will release many trillions of dollars in wealth in Internet commerce and communications. He is a hero of the dimensions of Rockefeller and Milken.'' gomemphis.com