When George hit the newsstands in 1995 with Cindy Crawford dressed as President Washington on the cover, it carried a record number of ad pages. The late John F. Kennedy, Jr., George's publisher, toured the country promoting his magazine of "not just politics as usual."

George, with $20 million backing from Hachette Filipacchi, drew the attention of both the media and the masses. However, there is little doubt the magazine commanded such interest because of its content or its name. The appeal came from the American fascination with the closest thing we have to a royal family-the Kennedy's, with all of their glories, tragedies and scandals. Let's be honest, the premiere issue, which featured an interview with George Wallace, was picked up not for its look at a former Alabama governor, but for the fact that "John-John" conducted the interview.

Kennedy fascination aside, George is another shining example that no matter how glamorous a name is, a magazine should be able to survive its founder. In the summer of 1999, when Kennedy died in an airplane crash in the waters off Martha's Vineyard, George was catapulted, perhaps prematurely, into that need to exist on its own.

Following Kennedy's death, the magazine formerly known as "the Kennedy magazine," finally attained the brand George, as the name of the magazine. Subsequently, Hachette Filipacchi Magazines (HFM) took 100 percent ownership. Frank Lalli, who was managing editor at Money for eight years, has been hired by HFM CEO Jack Kliger to assume the role of editor.

Amidst all of the struggle and changeovers, even from the beginning, with JFK, Jr.'s lack of magazine experience and to the current, with George's move to publishing on 10 issues a year, George has provided a mix that has captured the American imagination. Although it may have been the Kennedy face that originally drew the magazine some notoriety, it continues to be the humorous mix of politics and celebrities that keeps readers tuned into George.