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Manne on Wolfson

Henry Manne has made a career of being a hugely successful contrarian. Case in point, his take in the WSJ on the late Louis Wolfson:

Late last month Louis E. Wolfson died at the age of 95. While his life was noted, none of the major media seemed to recognize this man’s true significance.

Yes, the obituaries dutifully acknowledged that he was a serious and valued benefactor of children’s health care, and that he devoted himself in later life to the cause of penal reform. But apparently the writers and editors of these obituaries thought that what mattered was his conviction and jail time for a securities violation in the 1960s (and the related resignation under pressure of Abe Fortas from the U.S. Supreme Court), and his ownership of the Triple-Crown winning racehorse Affirmed. Occasionally mentioned, in passing, was his family’s rise from impoverished immigrant status to mega riches, and his early escapade as a professional boxer.

They missed the big story. Wolfson’s contribution to human welfare far exceeded the total value of all private philanthropy in history. He invented the modern hostile tender offer. This invention, which activated and energized the market for corporate control, was the primary cause of the revolutionary restructuring of American industry in the 1970s and ‘80s, and the ensuing economic boom.