Q: How many members does Augusta National Golf Club have and what do they pay for annual dues? Is there an initiation fee?
—Frank Manfre, Grayson
A: Augusta National Golf Club, a private club, doesn't release the names of its members, but it reportedly has about 300, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Condoleezza Rice, Bloomberg Business reported this month. The news service used a 2002 list that was leaked and updated it through interviews, published reports and "walking the grounds of the course (where members wear the club's iconic green jackets)."
Rice is one of three women, including IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and financier Darla Moore, who are members. Dues and the initiation fee also aren’t known, but a 2003 GolfDigest article placed the dues at “a few thousand dollars” a year and the membership fee in the “low five figures.” “Augusta National is more about power than it is about money. It is not what you can afford but who you know, and how you act,” GolfDigest wrote in the article.
Q: Where can we send a card or a letter to Rep. John Robert Lewis to wish him a happy 75th birthday?
—Mike Kornegay, Atlanta
A: You can write to Lewis (D-Atlanta), who turned 75 on Feb. 21, at either of his two offices: The Equitable Building, 100 Peachtree St. NW, #1920, Atlanta, GA 30303; or 343 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. Lewis has represented Georgia's 5th Congressional district since 1987.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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