The Atlas Shrugged Revolution
As America faces a devastating economic crisis fundamentally caused by
government policies, it is a hopeful sign for the future that increasing
numbers of concerned Americans are turning to Atlas Shrugged and discovering
Ayn Rand’s original morality of rational egoism and her uncompromising defense
of laissez-faire capitalism.
Please join the Ayn Rand Institute for a benefit dinner in New York City, September 14, 2010.
Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged is experiencing an unprecedented surge in interest.
Sales of the novel in 2009 exceeded 500,000 copies, more than double the previous record of 200,000 copies sold; media mentions of Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged are at an all-time high.
Why is a novel published more than half a century ago so relevant?
Location and Schedule
W New York
541 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022Reservations: 877-W-HOTELS (877-946-8357)
All other inquiries: 212-407-2975
September 14, 2010
| 6–7 PM | Reception |
| 7–9:30 PM | Dinner and Program |
Note: business attire, please
Speakers
Yaron Brook
Dr. Brook is president and executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute. A
former finance professor, he has published in academic as well as popular
publications and is frequently interviewed in the media. He has appeared on
CNN, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, CNBC and PBS, among others. He
lectures on Objectivism, business ethics and foreign policy at college campuses
and for corporations across America and throughout the world.
John Allison
Mr. Allison is the retired chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation, the 10th
largest financial-holding company in the United States. Mr. Allison began his
service with BB&T in 1971 and has managed a wide variety of responsibilities
throughout the bank. He became president of BB&T in 1987 and was elected
chairman and CEO in July 1989. During Mr. Allison’s tenure as CEO from 1989 to
2008, BB&T grew from $4.5 billion to $152 billion in assets.
Tara Smith
Dr. Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, where she is
the BB&T Chair for the Study of Objectivism and Anthem Foundation fellow. She
is the author of Moral Rights and Political Freedom, Viable
Values, Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist,
as well as numerous articles.
Barry Colvin
Mr. Colvin serves as Vice Chairman of Balyasny Asset Management. Since joining
BAM in 2006, Mr. Colvin has been focused on building the firm’s institutional
capabilities globally. Prior to BAM, Barry spent seven years at as President
and CIO of Tremont Capital Management, the Fund of Funds subsidiary of Tremont
Holdings, helping to build it from a $2 billion consulting firm into an $11
billion global asset management company. Prior to Tremont Capital Management,
Mr. Colvin was Director of Research for the ultra-high net worth and
institutional advisory firm of Asset Consulting Group in St Louis, MO.
Program
While Washington rapidly expands its control over our lives, a hopeful countertrend is underway: Ayn Rand’s classic Atlas Shrugged is flying off bookstore shelves at an unprecedented rate. At this benefit dinner, Dr. Brook and Mr. Allison will discuss why Americans are turning to Rand’s magnum opus—and why the novel’s revolutionary ideas are crucial to the future of freedom in America. Is the disastrous state of today’s politics the accidental result of clueless and corrupt politicians, or the inevitable product of a culture that has abandoned the Founding Fathers’ ideal of individual rights? Why have we abandoned that ideal? How do we restore it? Join us for this special evening and discover Ayn Rand’s groundbreaking answers to these questions—and discover what the Ayn Rand Institute is doing to bring about an Atlas Shrugged Revolution.
About the Ayn Rand Institute
The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Irvine, California, works to introduce young people to Ayn Rand’s novels, to support scholarship and research based on her ideas, and to promote the principles of reason, rational self-interest, individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism to the widest possible audience. The Institute is named for novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand (1905–1982), who is best known for her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
The Ayn Rand Center (ARC) is the public policy and outreach division of the Ayn Rand Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Center’s mission is to advance individual rights (the rights of each person to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness) as the moral basis for a fully free, laissez-faire capitalist society.
Auction
A number of rare Ayn Rand books and manuscripts will be auctioned at this event. Images and descriptions of the items are available for viewing on our Auction Page.
Sponsorship
You are invited to register for individual seats at the benefit dinner, or you may sponsor a table (for up to ten guests). For guests who are interested in sponsoring a table at this event, the Ayn Rand Institute is pleased to offer two levels of benefits. (See our Registration Page for more information.)
Event Sponsors
Atlas Level—$50,000
Doug Arends, Chairman
And One Anonymous Sponsor
Sponsor Level—$25,000
Tim Blum, HSA Commercial, Inc.
Eric Brooks, Founder, and Jeff Yass, Managing Director & Founder—Susquehanna International Group, LLC, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Jim Brown, principal and partner, Brandes Investment Partners
New York Friends of the Ayn Rand Institute
And Four Anonymous Sponsors