AT THIS POINT in time, the price for a share of Metromedia stock on the New York Stock Exchange was $585, and it then split one for ten. It was the highest per share price on the Exchange of any company. Needless to say, we were all very pleased. Since I joined Metromedia as President of Metromedia Broadcasting, the stock had risen from $104 to the $585 number. I had reason to be proud of myself, and all of the team at Metromedia, who had worked so hard toward building a great company.
Around this time, John Kluge went to Washington to meet with the FCC. When he came back to New York he had a meeting with George, Stu, and me. John was very excited about a new idea that some guy he met in Washington had told him about—the new and upcoming technology of cellular telephones. John knew nothing about it. Neither did we. However, in thirty days, we had attorneys working around the clock to apply for licenses in various markets across the country. We were able to acquire licenses in New York, Washington, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia for a total investment of about $750 million. This was a very hefty price tag for an investment we all knew next to nothing about. Some years later, John ended up selling the cellular telephone business for somewhere between $4 and $5 billion dollars. As I mentioned before, John Kluge was a very smart man.