GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

GENERAL MOTORS BUILDING
DETROIT, MICHIGAN 48202

ROGER B. SMITH
CHAIRMAN

November 1, 1984

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger
Kissinger Associates
Suite 1100
55 East Fifty-Second Street
New York, New York 10055

Dear Dr. Kissinger:

Thank you for your letter of October 18 regarding the
article by Gary Weiss which appeared in the October 8 issue of
Barron's.

As a chief executive whose company and industry have
frequently been the objects of misunderstanding and/or
misrepresentation on the part of the press, I can well
appreciate your concern. Let me assure you, however, that Dr.
Gordon Rayfield had no intention to disparage Kissinger
Associates or its work in his comments to Mr. Weiss. Rather,
he was making a general observation regarding the industry and
firm-specific emphasis characteristic of the in-house risk
analysis performed by corporations doing business overseas, in
contrast with the more broad-ranging and general focus
generally adopted by independent consulting firms. Dr.
Rayfield did not intend this general comment to be directed at
any particular firm although, with hindsight, the association
was perhaps inevitable in light of the fact that Kissinger
Associates was the subject of the article.

As a long-time admirer of you and your work, I should be
very sorry indeed if this incident has caused you concern. Let
me stress once again that there was certainly no intention on
the part of anyone at General Motors to reflect negatively on
you or the firm which bears your name.

Yours sincerely,

October 8, 1984

BAKKUN'S

LC7

# Meet Henry Kissinger
But It May Cost You $150,000

By GARY WEISS

LAWRENCE S. Eagleburger was adamant. "There are some things we will not do," insisted the dapper, chain-smoking ex-Undersecretary of State, rocking in his armchair, "and I think we ought to get those up front." Representing a foreign government—"and when I say 'represent.' I mean 'lobby'—"is out. But first and foremost, "we will not be door openers. In the sense that somebody says, 'I really need to meet with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany' and would Henry Kissinger call him up and set up a meeting. We don't do that."

All Kissinger Associates Inc. will ever do along those lines—asserts Eagleburger, president of Henry Kissinger's geopolitical corporate consulting firm since Sept. 1—is give the client "a list of names of people who we thought they ought to be in contact with." And that's that. "One client that we have has wanted advice on who in the U.S. government to talk to," Eagleburger points out, a trace of impatience creeping into his voice. "We've given him the names, but it's up to him to make the contact."

Not that making the call would be illegal or improper—"influence peddling," as practiced by ex-government officiated by ex-government officials, is an old and honored profession in Washington. But Henry Kissinger is apparently doing quite well by doing quite a bit less. The average lobbyist, after all, be he enсонest in a ritzy law office on K Street or a shared suite on South Capitol Street, must exercise his powers of persuasion to put bread on the table. The enigmatic ex-Secretariat of State, eight years after leaving the federal payroll and two years after going into business for himself, need only talk, analyze, and think—all the way, it seems, to the bank.

When Henry Kissinger talks, people, as always, listen. But first they must pay. The people who do the listening are the top executives of major multinational companies, 20 or so in number, and they pay an annual sum that reportedly ranges from $100,000 to $150,000 a year. Eagleburger, interviewed at Kissinger Associates' New York headquarters, was m zum on the subject of fees and the names of clients, but the head of the firm's Washington office, retired Gen. Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser to Gerald Ford, confirmed the $100,000-$150,000 figure as about right.

That's a lot of dough, especially for folks who won't even drop a dime on your behalf to call an old pal. Still, execs of the global firms that use the firm's

services—outfits like Atlantic Richfield, Fluor, probably Chase Manhattan Bank and others of that ilk—get something they can tell the grandkids about. They get to meet with Henry Kissinger. Not once, but four to six times a year, to discuss the impact of global developments on their very own firm's future.

The discussions are, apparently, not exactly freewheeling—the agenda is “pre-set.” And the questions are typically cosmic-stuff like: “How do you see the Middle East developing over the next year or two?” or “What are the prospects for U.S.-Eastern European relations?” Sometimes, Eagleburger says, the talk does center on particular countries.

"Most of our relationships are retainer, multi-year relationships where we're working with a company on their strategic thinking," notes Alan Stoga, Kissinger Associates' chief economic analyst and former head of country risk assessment at the First National Bank of Chicago. Like others of his colleagues, Kissinger and he met while both were in government. In Stoga's case, during a stint on the staff of the President's Central America commission, upon which Kissinger served.

"The cutting edge of the firm," says Stoga, "is geopolitical, strategic consulting." And the chief geopolitical risk analysts? "Henry Kissinger," replies Eagleburger.

"My coming on," continues Eagleburger, who left his No. 3 spot at the State Department only last May, "hopefully adds another arrow to the quiver along the lines of the sorts of things Henry already brings. We tend to look at issues from the same perspective. We don't always agree, but I think we tend to analyze issues in much the same way. I would hope my coming on would provide more background in general geopolitical analysis and on occasion permit Henry to go in one direction and me in the other, if we are trying to deal with two clients at the same time."

Eagleburger also pointed to the arrival, on Oct. 1, of John C. Haley, executive vice president of the Chase Manhattan Bank and a veteran of 31 years of top-level banking, much of it abroad. Haley, who became deputy chairman of the board, will considerably bolster the company's financial expertise, observes Eagleburger.

Alas, such biggies from the world of diplomacy and finance, conspicuous anywhere else, must invariably fall under after that you are always entitled to a pro rata refund.

singer. "I am not foolish enough to think that the name Eagleburger is substitutable for Kissinger," the 27-year veteran of international diplomacy humbly concedes.

Or, as Stoga says flatly, "Henry Kissinger is the business."

Whether his insights are right or wrong—Kissinger's record as Secretary of State, though dramatic, was not held in universally high acclaim—Kissinger is nevertheless a comforting, if expensive, source of wisdom to corporate executives. "People feel reassured if they have his insights," comments one top official at Business International, operator of one of the largest international affairs consulting services, who requested anonymity. Whether such "reassurance" is worth the

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