"By 1940 we had begun to see that the A.A. book should belong to our society itself. Its shares should not be forever scattered among forty-nine subscribers, Ruth Hock, Henry, and me [Bill W.]. If the Foundation could acquire these outstanding shares, the book could be placed in trust for A.A. as a whole. They could no longer kick about the book's income being used to run the A.A. office.
"Trustee A. LeRoy Chipman
conceived the idea of borrowing enough money from Mr. [John D., Jr.]
Rockefeller, two of his sons [including then-future US Vice President Nelson],
and the dinner guests to clear away certain debts and to buy all Works
Publishing's shares (except Henry's and mine) from the cash subscribers at par.
Every one of the cash subscribers gladly consented to this; they were happy to
get out even. Mr. Chipman thereupon raised a total of $8,000 dollars, to be
repaid to Mr. Rockefeller and the others out of book profits at a later
date."
2001 AAWS Inc.
Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age, pg.
189