A rule of thumb for college reunions.

• Author: Kristie, James
• Position: LEADERSHIP

From Eat People by Andy Kessler. Copyright 2011 by the author. Published by Portfolio/Penguin (www.us.penguingroup.com).

SOI'M HEADED BACK for my college reunion," I said to my friend George Gilder.

"You're wasting your time."

"Why?"

"I have a rule of thumb for reunions."

"What's that?"

"At the fifth college reunion, it's the lawyers who are kings. They're out of law school a few years with jobs at New York law firms. They're driving brand-new foreign cars and wearing custom suits while everyone else is still struggling to figure out what they're going to do."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Go on."

"At the 10-year, everyone ignores the lawyers; they just look tired and they're usually already divorced. It's the doctors' reunion. They've done their med school and internships and fellowships, maybe even specialized. They have a thriving practice at some prestigious hospital or research center. They tell fascinating stories about saving lives and going to Africa to vaccinate poor children. It's their turn to shine."

"Even though they all eventually end up hating it?"

"Yeah, that's at the next few reunions, if they bother coming. They're overworked and their compensation constantly goes down and they're probably taking a few too many self-prescribed medications and ..."

"So then who?"

"Well, maybe around the 15th it's the financiers, the Wall Street types. But no one likes them. They call them money changers behind their backs. It's at the 20th that things get interesting, because then it's the entrepreneurs who shine. Someone who's figured out how to turn...