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The Business Roundtable is a prestigious group formed to promote pro-business public policy and made up only of chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations. It has considerably more direct influence over public policy in general and political initiatives than its allied business grouping, the Business Council.

The group says it advocates "public policies that ensure vigorous economic growth, a dynamic global economy, and the well-trained and productive U.S. workforce. ... In general, the Roundtable focuses on issues it believes will have an effect on the economic well-being of the nation."^[1]

What distinguishes the group from other U.S. business associations is the direct participation of the chief executive officers. The group tries to have a membership representing types of American businesses and all regions of the country.^[2]

Contents 1 Size and influence of member companies 2 History 3 Top officers of the group 4 Further reading 5 Notes 6 External links

The 160 member companies in the group form a significant fraction of the U.S. economy. The companies have:^[1]

• over $4.5 trillion in annual revenues;
• more than 10 million employees;
• nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market;
• nearly a third of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government;
• returns of more than $110 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005;
• nearly 60 percent of all corporate charitable giving in the U.S. (they give than $7 billion a year in charitable contributions);
• nearly half of the total private research and development spending in the U.S. (they invest $86 billion annually).

The group was formed in 1972 through the merger of three existing organizations: the March Group, consisting of chief executive officers who met informally to consider public policy issues; the Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable, a group devoted to containing construction costs; and the Labor Law Study Committee, largely made up of labor relations executives of major companies.^[3]

These are the top members of the board:^[4]

• Harold McGraw III, chairman of the group and president & CEO, McGraw-Hill Companies
• Edward B. Rust, Jr., co-chairman of the group and chairman & CEO, State Farm Insurance Companies
• Kenneth I. Chenault, co-chairman of the group and chairman & CEO, American Express Company
• John J. Castellani, president of the organization

• The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point, Haynes Johnson and David S. Broder, Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1996. (Significant mention)

1. ^ ^{a b} [1]Business Roundtable Web site, Web page titled "About Us: About Business Roundtable", accessed September 15, 2006
2. ^ [2]Business Roundtable Web site, Web page titled "About Us: Roundtable Members" accessed September 15, 2006
3. ^ [3]Business Roundtable Web site, Web page titled "About Us: Business Roundtable History" accessed September 15, 2006
4. ^ [4]Business Roundtable Web site, Web page titled "About Us: Officers" accessed September 15, 2006

• Business Roundtable