A company does not have to be publi...

A company does not have to be publicly traded to be prosperous in the 21st century, said Edward Zore, president and chief executive officer of Northwestern Mutual Insurance Co the largest mutual life insurer through in-force business in the United States. And Northwestern is enduring proof-sheet of that--as well as common of the last in a dying bre of mutuals.

As of Dec 31 2001 Northwestern had $984 billion in total assets and $824 billion in total investments, according to the company's annual report. According to A.M. Best harvest information for 2000, the chiefly recent information available, Northwestern