to 70 clients in the fi rst month and $2
million in gross revenues over a fouryear
period. In 1992, he co-founded
RSIS, which provides information
technology, systems engineering,
telecommunications and scientific
services and solutions. RSIS, which
now supports 100 prime contracts
with civilian and defense agencies of
the federal government, is the 15thlargest
African-American-owned
service company in the country and
the largest minority-owned contractor
in the Washington, D.C. region.
WILLIAM J. INMAN
Americans have a few consistent
dreams in common: family, health,
happiness and – luckily for mortgage
maestro Inman – a place to call home.
Financing that last dream? Top-tenlisted
company NVR Mortgage
Finance, Inc., of which Inman is
president, is more than happy to
help. The company’s success is due
in part to the clever combination of
homebuilding and helping families
buy already existing property, with
a neat customer service manifesto of
specifi cally aiding NVR-built home
mortgages. In 2005, Inman received an
incentive reward worth 84 percent of
his already titanic base salary – looks
like he’s one man who’s home free,
mortgage regardless.
DOUGLAS JEMAL
Almost everybody’s friend, Jemal
dodged a major federal bullet this year
when he was acquitted of charges
that he bribed a D.C. offi cial to get
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sweetheart contracts. Here since 1966,
when he was “The Wiz,” Jemal parlayed
his small holdings into an empire that
includes the old Woodies building. His
restored mini-mall on Connecticut
Avenue in Cleveland Park was a historic
preservation fi rst – and an ongoing
fi nancial success.
HERB KOHL
Democrat Kohl ranks fi rst in
wealth in the U.S. Senate. His
catchphrase, “Nobody’s senator
but yours,” implies his being above
bribery and corruption – not a
hard thing in his case since he has
somewhere between $219 and
$234 million socked away. Kohl’s
an Everyman – he’s served his
country in the armed forces, is
an avid sportsman (he owns the
Milwaukee Bucks) and above all, is
a nice Midwestern guy, albeit with
a family empire built upon Kohl’s
grocery and department stores.
BRUCE LEVENSON AND
ED PESKOWITZ
Bruce Levenson and Ed Peskowitz
weren’t miners, but they did dabble
in black gold; with backgrounds
as oil jobbers, the duo entered the
newsletter fi eld. Then struck out on
their own with the 1977 launch of
United Communications Group from
Bruce’s one-bedroom apartment.
Guerilla-style tactics such as slipping
the newsletter under nearly 1,000
hotel doors at an oil conference,
made UCG a powerhouse publisher
which today produces more than |
160 publications and services in
such fields as healthcare, funeral
services, automotive, financial
services, education, government,
postal infor mation, taxes,
telecommunications, technology, and,
of course, oil and energy. Levenson
and Peskowitz, still fast friends, also
now have nine separate companies,
including the Wall Street favorite
Tech-Target IT media company and a
signifi cant interest in the NBA Atlanta
Hawks, NHL Atlanta Thrashers, and
the arena in which both teams play.
FRED MALEK
Malek founded Thayer Capital
Partners in the 1990s and is the
chairman and CEO of Thayer Hotel
Investors (which owns and operates
$2 billion worth of hotels in the
U.S.). He was president of Marriott
in the 1980s. A Republican who once
co-owned the Texas Rangers with
W, he remains close to the family. A
1999 profi le in Washingtonian put his
net worth at $250 million. Malek was
also deputy under secretary of the
Department of Health, Education
and Welfare under Elliot Richardson;
special assistant to President Nixon;
and deputy director of the U.S.
Offi ce of Management and Budget.
DOUGLAS MCCORKINDALE
As former CEO of Gannet,
owner of the media monolith USA
TODAY, McCorkindale was the
fi rst name on an important routing
slip. Prior to heading Gannet, he
practiced corporate, securities and
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banking law with Thacher, Proffi tt
and Wood in New York. The reach
of this multifaceted man extends
to directorships of the Associated
Press, Continental Airlines and
Lockheed Martin. An avid golfer,
with a we-kid-you-not six handicap,
McCorkindale is a member of the
PGA Tour Equipment Advisory
Committee.
RACHEL MELLON
Pittsburgh’s golden boy, banker
Andrew W. Mellon, once the third
richest man in the country after John
D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford, raised
his son Paul in grand style. Paul
Mellon spent his childhood summers
in the English countryside, where his
lifelong love of British culture began.
Second wife Rachel “Bunny” Mellon
and he had much to talk about –
she’s from “across the pond.” Now his
widow, she remains devoted to British
horticulture, having used her fl oral
fi nesse in helping design the Rose
Garden at the White House, among
other things. Born a Lambert – and
therefore heiress to the considerable
Listerine fortune – Bunny continues
to use her millions to support the arts
and equestrian pursuits.
MANDELL OURISMAN
People who don’t even own
cars have heard of Ourisman
Chevrolet. the 34th largest dealer
group in the nation. Accordingly,
“Mandy” Ourisman is a fixture
of the Washington social circuit,
and accepts his status as one of the |
