Being Rex: King of Carnival

It's an honor only a handful of people have experienced — being Rex, King of Carnival. An alumnus and former chair of the Board of Tulane, John E. Koerner III was lucky enough to be selected to reign over Fat Tuesday in 2008. For this video, he sat down to tell us why it's good to be king.

“The best part of being Rex is the recognition from the community that you mean something to them,” Koerner says. “They won't let you do it twice, or else I'd be glad to go back.”

Koerner received his undergraduate degree in 1965, his law degree in 1969, and an MBA in 1970 from Tulane University. An entrepreneur-in-residence at the A. B. Freeman School of Business, Koerner is president of Koerner Capital. From 1976 until 1995, he was president and co-owner of Barq's and its subsidiary, the Delaware Punch Co.