
If you like modern art, you'll be very happy visiting the offices of Eli Broad's foundation in Los Angeles. The walls are covered with prints and paintings by some of the greatest names in contemporary art: Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, Sean Scully. But apart from the spectacular art, the offices look like the corporate headquarters of any major corporation. It's a foundation, but it feels like a business. And when you talk to Eli Broad you understand why. Eli Broad is one of the few individuals to have founded two separate Fortune 500 companies. He has taken the lessons he's learned in business and applied them to running his foundation. When Eli Broad gives money, he expects a return. Not a financial return, but results that can be measured in the education system, scientific advances or the arts. We were in the midst of the economic crisis the week we interviewed Eli Broad, but he wasn't eager to talk about the market. What he wanted to talk about was his recent visit to Versailles to see a show by one of his favorite artists, Jeff Koons.