Franklin was a very promising 28-year old when Durward Howes asked him to become one of the founders of the Economic Round Table in 1932.

He was born in Los Angeles in 1904 and became a crack student at Harvard Military School. In 1922, he won the First Place Cup at Pomona Military Day, an event held fre­quently to determine who were the most superior cadets at military schools around Southern California.

Franklin skipped college and went right to work in the financial district. He got mar­ried at 22 and a year later became a partner in the brokerage firm of Jones, Hubbard and Donnell. They were members of the Los Angeles Stock and Curb Exchange. Before joining the other Rounders as a founder at ERT, he became vice president and director of an out­fit called Investment Group Corp.

Later, Franklin became a member of the Board of Governors of the Los Angeles Curb Exchange. His major career moves in subsequent years included being President of Metal Products Engineering in Long Beach and then Chairman of Consolidated Engineering Corp in Los Angeles.

He lived most of his adult life in Bel Air. He was a member of the Jonathan Club, the Los Angeles Athletic Club and the Westport Beach Club in Venice. He was a lifelong, de­vout Episcopalian.

In his later years, Franklin became deeply involved in Republican politics. This actual­ly put him at odds with two very rich and powerful fellow Rounders – Howard Ahmanson and Alphonzo Bell, Jr. Franklin was a strong supporter of Richard Nixon. Ahmanson and Bell detested Nixon. This led to some heated differences, particularly in fundraising for the Republican Party. In all these disputes, Franklin succeeded – no matter what Ahmanson and Bell did to oppose him.