Executives: An American Original

His vest open, his bow tie flaring and his Havana cigar lit, Insurance Executive W. Clement Stone scrunches down in his high-backed chair at his company's nondescript headquarters on Chicago's North Side. "Wealth is power," he proclaims. "Wealth is good. With money you can do good—your whole horizon changes."

Most executives would consider such remarks preachy, overly materialistic or just plain corny, but Stone is no typical executive. An American original, he views himself as a salesman for self-motivation, an exemplar of the American dream. He laces his conversation with homilies, and...