The Man Behind The Man

Before lunch at the Metropolitan Club with an aspiring District of Columbia politician who wants Kimsey's blessing -- and his money -- Kirsch tends to his boss's portfolio. There is an hour-long phone call with investment adviser Fiduciary Trust Co.

"We're going to move some money from domestic-oriented stocks into a high global value fund to take advantage of the emerging market and foreign stock boom," Kirsch said.

The office reflects the diversity of the day. Sport jackets and ties are draped over a chair. Kirsch yells to no one in particular that Kimsey's four to-die-for seats for that day's Nationals game are available. The "in box" at the corner of Kirsch's desk includes a quarterly report dated March 31, 2008, from Fiduciary Trust, a FedEx package from the Council on Foreign Relations, a report titled "Iraq Weekly Status" and something from the Rumsfeld Foundation, as in the former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

A table is covered with pamphlets representing dozens of investment pitches. There is a Merrill Lynch prospectus. One envelope titled Novus Energy Partners, is a growth equity fund in new energy headed by former Virginia governor Mark Warner.

Bookshelves contain titles such as "Wealth in Families," "Bailouts or Bail Ins" and "World Capital Markets."

Between calls and cups of coffee, Kirsch eyeballs stocks that Kimsey holds, including Capital One, Time Warner and the Joseph E. Robert trust, a real estate investment company. Capital One and Robert's company, JER Investors Trust, have been hammered in the current stock market but Time Warner has held up over the past year.

"I just watch these stocks so I can have a smart answer when Jim comes back from lunch. If he asks, 'What's TW [TimeWarner] doing,' I will have an answer,' " he said.

Kirsch throws on a tie for lunch while placing a call to Kimsey's McLean home, where chauffeurs, housekeepers, cooks and engineers tend to the owner's life. After years of personally managing the household staff and refereeing disputes, Kirsch has finally cobbled together a team that runs on its own. "It's down to one phone call a day over there to make sure things are running smoothly," he says.

When construction of Kimsey's huge estate bogged down and expenses were piling up, Kirsch got involved. He cut costs, like substituting concrete for black marble in the garage. He trouble-shoots other things, too, advising Kimsey's foundation and schmoozing politicians.

Family offices are essentially support systems that smooth life's edges for the wealthy. Some offices are structured like Kimsey's and some are tucked away in a corner at a law office or an accounting firm. Some patriarchs keep the family office and its investments as an arm of their bank or construction company.

One major development in the growth of family offices is the emergence of multifamily offices. Some offices manage just one family, like Kimsey's. Others, such as the Bessemer Trust, Rockefeller and Co. and GenSpring Family Office, offer their services to multiple families who may have enough resources that they need help managing, but are not rich enough to afford a personal staff that can cost millions per year. Bessemer Trust requires that clients have assets of at least $10 million that can be invested.

"Most of your family offices are focused on the whole financial picture," said John Devine, chairman of the mid-Atlantic region for GenSpring, which services families worth more than $25 million.

Kimsey hired Kirsch, a Marquette University graduate, in August 2000 to help coordinate his fast-growing fortune and do some estate planning.

"It's fairly logical," Kimsey said. "If you drop dead some day, you don't want to leave a mess for them to deal with."

Kirsch's first hire was Nancy Merritt, a former staffer on Capitol Hill. Her mission was to get Kimsey's daily schedule under control. Kimsey calls Merritt "my nanny."

"She organizes my romantic life," said Kimsey, who is 68, divorced and the father of three men. "My girlfriends think I'm a much more sensitive, caring guy since Nancy has been with me."

Weir was recruited from the wealth management division at Legg Mason to help follow the money. Hytovitz, the receptionist, was hired from Neiman Marcus because of her easy way with customers. She was the final touch.

The staff allows Kirsch to concentrate on being business adviser, problem solver and gatekeeper.

Kirsch says "no" so often that the staff calls him "Dr. No." "My first rule is not to lose money. Most investors who want money come right to me. You've got to have someone who is your conscience here . . . a contrarian view."

Kimsey's fortune was minted during America Online's glory days in the late 1990s, but he also hit a home run as a founding board member in Capital One, the McLean credit card giant. His investments range from Alan Patricof's venture capital fund Greycroft Partners to Ramsey Asset Management, run by Russ Ramsey, a co-founder of Friedman Billings Ramsey Group. Kimsey invested heavily in friend Joe Robert's real estate and financial companies.

Kirsch also runs a venture capital arm inside the office. He and Kimsey have put money into Sentrillion, a border security company run by Rick Kay. Kimsey also has money in ObjectVideo, a second security company run by Raul Fernandez. Both Kay and Fernandez made fortunes in the late-1990s tech boom and now are part owners in the Washington Capitals and Verizon Center. Kimsey has money sprinkled in dozens of small companies. Kirsch is also excited about a big bet on XTone, a Herndon start-up that accesses the Internet through voice recognition.

Not every investment works. Kirsch makes a call to unwind Kimsey's interest in a small entertainment company in New York that is not progressing as hoped. Another company that Kirsch and Kimsey hoped to take public has sputtered.

"The highs are probably higher than most," Kirsch said. "I work 25 feet from the founder of AOL. I get to deal with high-energy and high-level people. The hardest part is juggling all the balls."