The Newsstand Owner in Atlas Shrugged

The Newsstand Owner

Though Dagny is friendly with the Newsstand Owner, we never learn his name. She considers him a part of the Taggart Terminal and stops by periodically to speak with him. He's a seemingly lonely old man whose main hobby is collecting cigarettes. This hobby is also highly convenient in terms of the ongoing mysteries in the book. Dagny gives the Newsstand Owner the mysterious cigarette she gets from Hugh Akston, which bears a dollar sign on it. The Newsstand Owner investigates and comes up empty, which helps let us know that there is some sort of underground movement going on.