Coincidently, the woman sitting next to me on the plane wore an MIT shirt, so I asked if she went to MIT. Her boy friend sitting next to her turned out to be a student at the Sloan School of Management, so I had someone to speak with during the 11 hour flight. He told me there were about 40 "Sloanies" on the flight going on a spring break tour of Israel. They would mostly tour the country but also visit several high-tech companies and meet with Shimon Perez and other politicians. Benjamin Natanyahu is a Sloan School alumnus.
I've already heard two stories demonstrating the global reach of economic and financial crisis and the change it brings to peoples' lives. The CEO of several high tech companies over the last decade told me of the awkwardness of writing his occupation as CEO on the unemployment insurance forms he recently filled out. For years, he has been able to keep his small software ventures alive by selling products and technologies or raising funds from investors, but in the current environment, he just could not keep his most recent venture afloat.
I also learned of a formerly wealthy family that had many millions of dollars invested with Madoff. They were forced to leave their large villa in Jerusalem and are moving to a kibbutz.
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