Lucky 13

Among the 250 interested shareholders at the annual meeting of land-selling General Development Corp. in Miami last week was Peter Theakston, 13, who had banked enough from his newspaper route to buy four shares last January at 38 3/8. Like other shareholders, Peter was concerned by the stock's gyrations (TIME, March 30)--selling as high as 77 1/2 in mid-March, down a fortnight later to 45 1/8. Nobody had the courage to ask management for an explanation, until Peter spoke up: "Why did General Development stock rise so fast and then drop so fast?" President Frank Mackle pleaded embarrassed ignorance: "Son, I don't know too much about the stock market. It goes up and down. My son asked me the same question, and I couldn't answer."*

In a rare double split, General Development shareholders approved a one-for-one split on top of a one-for-four distribution--raising Peter's total to ten shares. By week's end, as General Development's old stock bounded back to 55 1/8, Peter's original investment of $153.50 had a market value of $220.50. Wrote Peter in a school theme: "I worked hard and made a small fortune. Now I have invested the money, and I am going to relax and make a big fortune."

* The Securities and Exchange Commission also seeks an answer, has been quietly investigating General Development for weeks.

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