And did! (Next time think about throwing in a tutorial on not letting The Man make you his bitch and some tales from the crypt to sweeten the deal.) Not long after Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race in early 2008, a titan of New York finance, Julian H. Robertson, flew to Utah to deliver an eye-popping offer. He asked Mr. Romney to become chief executive of his hedge fund, Tiger Management, for an annual salary of about $30 million, plus investment profits, according to two people told of the discussions. For Mr. Romney, who had spent the previous decade in public life forgoing any paychecks, the position promised to catapult him back to the pinnacle of American business and into the ranks of the stratospherically rich. Several friends and relatives urged him to accept. “Let’s put it this way,” said Mr. Robertson. “He could have made a lot of money.” But Mr. Romney was uninterested. Defeat, Introspection, Reinvention, Nomination [NYT]

A slot previously held by a certain Home Depot founder who'd better step his shit up next time he's on CNBC. “I think people are getting to know the real Mitt Romney. I am thrilled that that is happening. He is really quite a guy. He is, in my opinion, intellectually and morally and managerially the man that is most qualified by far to be president of the United States. You're having a guy this afternoon that is a great hero of mine, but Mitt Romney is even better than Ken Langone...I think the campaign is going good. I think Governor Romney is really getting the American people to see the real Romney. That is what we have needed all along. I wish his family would expose itself more…I'd like to see Mrs. Romney, I would like to see the boys out and all of that more." Tiger's Robertson: hedge fund managers are scared [BloombergTV]

He'll get his wish (and golden fat poker) yet.