[3][4] Checchi had previously enjoyed success in various business ventures, most notably serving as co-chairman of Northwest Airlines.
[1] Checchi attended Amherst College in Massachusetts because he heard it was the most difficult to get into; he graduated in 1970 with an American studies major.
Checchi first worked at Marriott Corporation where he rose quickly due to clever financing for hotel developments at home and abroad.
[2] In 1989, Checchi helped organize a $3.65 billion leveraged buyout of Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines, investing about $12 million in the transaction.
[2] Checchi counters that he protected the company from asset strippers and he helped triple the value of Northwest Airlines stock.
[2] He campaigned on increasing investing on education, making a 10% across-the-board cut in all state bureaucracies to pay for more teachers, computers, books, universal preschool and after-school programs.
[2] Checchi opposed Proposition 187 because it cut benefits to children of illegal immigrants and called for the prosecution of businesses that hire undocumented workers.
[2] Checchi supported regional planning for growth, financial incentives to stimulate housing, and he promised to cut auto insurance rates by 10 percent.