The Lion, the Billionaire and the Roulette Wheel
(From Tim Vickers, one of our Briefing readers in the UK.)
Last year, the evangelical community in the UK saluted its latest superhero, the multi-billionaire business, Philip Anschutz, for his apparent desire to clean up the film industry by backing a new production of The Chronicles of Narnia. Anschutz met the challenge of being a good steward of his opportunities and resources, setting us a good example in that area, whether we be rich, poor or somewhere in between.
Now, however, in the wake of the Prescott scandal, it seems he has made a questionable choice of stewardship regarding his investment in London's Millennium Dome. Development of the site by his firm, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), in partnership with Kerzner International Ltd., is conditional on the granting of the license for Britain's only super-casino which will be built adjacent to the Dome to form part of a giant entertainment complex. This should deeply trouble Christians committed to morality in the public sphere and core family values—the very values which Anschutz so readily espouses.
Anschutz has been dubbed alternately a sophisticated self-made businessman and a corporate vulture, depending on who you listen to. There is no doubt that he has been momentously successful in turning failing businesses into successful ones. But there is some doubt about the way that he has done it. His telecommunications business, Qwest, was fined $250 million, with a further $400 million settlement to shareholders, after its Enron-like accounting escapades. Before the enquiry, employees had been urged to put their retirement savings into Qwest shares, but at the same time (according to the Orange County Weekly Newspaper in San Diego), Qwest executives were bailing out. During this period, Qwest's shares dropped from a staggering $64 to an equally staggering low of $1.95, leaving many of the firm's employees robbed of their pensions. Anschutz himself netted over $200 million through the sale of 6.1 million shares.
Virtually all press reports on Anschutz give him a double tag: he is a deeply religious, evangelical Christian, and a firm supporter of Republican politics. The latter tag is a political choice, but the former tag positions him as one of the most high-profile, wealthy Christians on the planet. But if Mr Anschutz is really committed to the reinstatement of Christian family values, how on earth can he justify his decision to license and encourage the thoroughly unbiblical and socially destructive habit of gambling? This, not Mr Prescott's visits to the family ranch, should be causing us concern, yet there's not a breath of it in the press.
Far from being the heroic rider on a white horse, Mr Anschutz may turn out to be yet another potentially great man whose commitment to Jesus was overshadowed by his commitment to profit. The billionaire should be putting his money where his mouth is—or his treasure where his heart is—not the other way round. Wouldn't it be better to see the Millennium Dome turned from a white elephant to a place of goodness and benefit to society? After all, it was built to commemorate the year 2000, the 2000th anniversary of Christ's birth. Let's pray that the influential Mr Anschutz puts his Christian values at the fore—even if that turns out to be a less profitable route.