Business: No Rest at 89

Ed Ball hangs on to an empire

For Edward Ball, the debate about extending the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 (see cover story page 18) must seem like a plentiful waste of time. A peppery 89, Ball is a monumentally stubborn, bourbon-sipping, union-busting, Government-fighting apostle of 19th century free enterprise. As senior trustee of the estate of the late chemical heir Alfred I. du Pont, he regularly puts in a full, often tumultuous work week managing one of the nation's greatest private treasuries. Operating out of a spartan office in Jacksonville, Fla.,...