Building Schools and Chartering Jets

I just finished reading Jon Krakauer's recent expose, Three Cups of Deceit, about Greg Mortenson who founded the Central Asia Institute and wrote the NY Times Bestseller Three Cups of Tea. Here are some of the most memorable parts for me:

After Tom Hornbein, Sally Uhlmann, and Gordon Wiltsie resigned from the CAI board of directors, I asked Wiltsie, who had served as the board treasurer, why he left. “Greg,” he replied, “regards CAI as his personal ATM.” Wiltsie described how Mortenson would routinely charge personal expenses to CAI, and seldom provided receipts or other documentation for any of his expenditures, no matter how persistently Wiltsie pleaded with him to do so.

And,

“Greg is of the attitude that CAI exists because of him,” says an ex-staffer who held a senior position in the organization’s Montana office. “Any money he raises for CAI, according to Greg’s logic, is therefore his money, and he can spend it however he wants.”

Here is some commentary regarding the interaction between CAI and Mortenson's book tour:

[...] although CAI receives no royalties from Mortenson’s books, CAI has paid virtually all of the expenses incurred by Mortenson, Relin, and at least some of his uncredited ghostwriters while they were researching, writing, and promoting the books. These expenses have included cameras, computers, writers’ advances, and travel. When Mortenson has traveled domestically to promote his books in recent years, he has usually flown on chartered jets, and CAI has paid millions of dollars for these charters. CAI has also paid millions of dollars to run numerous ads to promote Mortenson’s books in upscale publications such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, and The New York Times.

And,

According to one of Mortenson’s friends, when he learned that Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love had bumped Three Cups of Tea from number one down to number two on the New York Times paperback nonfiction list, “Greg was furious. He started buying books like crazy, with the CAI credit card, to try and put Three Cups back on top.” 

Krakauer's piece of investigative journalism uncovers the extensive lies and dishonest habits of a well-respected humanitarian. It's a quick read, and well worth it. You can buy Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way for $3 on the Kindle.

Here is more from 60 minutes.