Here’s another tip for our Make the Most of Unemployment guide: if you’re going to get fired, be a CEO. HR World has rounded up 15 of the most shocking golden parachutes given out by big corporations to their departing leaders. Some of our favorites, inside.
What do you know, a lot of these companies that gave sweet severance packages to their CEOs were also nominated for Worst Company in America, with two of them reaching the Elite Eight. The first one, Exxon, sent its CEO Lee Raymond off with a $351 million package; the money should come in handy for when he wants to offer additional awards to scientists who come up with evidence that global warming is a myth.
Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide Mortgage (also an Elite Eight member) has appeared on Consumerist recently, as a result of investigation of the “Friends of Angelo” program that gave sweetheart rates to influential borrowers, including members of Congress. Oh also, he was part of that whole subprime mortgage meltdown. Guess that’s why he only got $23.8 million when he stepped down.
Last but not least, 2006′s Worst Company in America and 2007′s runner-up, Halliburton, gave a $34 million package and 430,000 shares of stock to its outgoing CEO, Dick Cheney. Unlike Countrywide, Halliburton is doing pretty well for itself right about now.
15 of the Most Astonishing Retirements, Bonuses, and Cash-Outs in Corporate America [HR World]
(Photo: Getty) (Thanks to Paul!)
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Even European CEOs make about a 3rd of what their counterparts do here. Last I looked the economy is doing better there than it is here. I guess CEOs over there dont work half as hard as ours.
@Snarkysnake: Ya I can tell your a true republican. And you are fighting with me about who is the better republican, giving me your republican resume, like you know mine. You are DEFINITELY not a wacko.
@rellog: the first issue i disagree with. Factual info? hmm?
2nd, i know what a non compete is. I’ve been under them. But when your a CEO of a huge corporation, you know a lot more then the typical people under non-compete contracts. It makes senses to treat these people well. Once again, I’m not on either side, just making guesses on why they do it
@Snarkysnake: Also, my dad can beat up your dad.
Shouldn’t be too tough. My dad is 74 years old.
Enjoy. Savor the last few months before a real ass whipping at the hands of the electorate. I am not talking about John McCain here (although it’s certainly possible).The “Republicans” in congress are going to get a mucking out that they won’t soon forget come November. After these blow dried phonies have to pack their bags and leave,they can just look in the damn mirror for the source of their unemployment.
Will the Democrats that replace them be corrupt ? You betcha. But throwing these asswipes out will throw the fear of god into the next bunch that wants to sell out our heritage and our industry to enrich the creeps on Wall Street. I don’t give a shit whether you think I’m a good Republican or not. If being a “true” Republican means that you turn a blind eye to moral rot, corruption and incompetence- Then you can have it.
@Snarkysnake: The Democrats tried and succeeded at replacing Republicans two years ago and then went on to change nothing and become the most distrusted, lowest approval rated Congress ever.
I don’t think that the electorate trusts either party in Congress. That’s why an outsider was nominated by the Democrats, they’ve had enough of the Nancy Pelosi / Harry Reid / Steny Hoyer show and want someone with the grit to tell them what the word “change” really means, not an insider who’ll go have a shmoozie lunch with them. And yes, I honestly think that Obama will be tougher on his Democratic colleagues that Clinton would have been, if he’s elected.
Once people have truly had enough, the pendulum will swing back the other way. I just hope it happens soon.
And by the way, I’m a lifetime Republican.
DarrenO:
Totally off-topic at this point, but even if global warming is a naturally occurring event, there’s little doubt that our polluting of the planet isn’t good for us or it. There’s less potable water — in fact less water that you can even swim in — there’s a giant island of plastic in the ocean, the fish are disappearing, the bees are dying … we need to change how we do things, and insisting that global warming is a hoax doesn’t solve anything.
@Snarkysnake: If being a “true” Republican means that you turn a blind eye to moral rot, corruption and incompetence- Then you can have it.
That is my new favorite quote.
@humphrmi: False. He did get 5 years of deferred compensation, which TECHNICALLY isn’t company-performance-oriented.
But he also had 433,333 shares of stock when he was saying on Meet the Press and elsewhere that he’d severed all ties from Halliburton. If he just had the deferred compensation package, this would have been okay. But the value of his stocks rose through the roof.
Too, you have to understand that before bailing out of Halliburton to become VP, Halliburton was actually in financial difficulty. They acquired a bunch of asbestos liability when they bought out KBR. They were facing shareholders suits, and allegations of accounting irregularities of the kind seen in Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc.,.
But Cheney left Halliburton, became VP, and ensured all that would be erased by making Halliburton the single largest recipient of private contractor dollars in Iraq.
He is one of the most evil people the world has ever seen. I’m talking Pol Pot, Hitler, Vlad the Impailer evil.
@stevejust:
Oh please… overstate much?
Even the Lancet can’t make up numbers about Cheney that get him even close to the number any one of those nutjobs you mention killed by their actions.
‘Salright, we will still protect your ass while you complain about how evil it is here in Western civilization.
@Bladefist: Bechtel, Boots and Coots International and Wild Well Control Inc.(which they subcontracted the job to) and GSM Consulting are all competitors and all had the ability to do the original job of fighting well fires. Now did Cheney simply have faith in his previous employer or ties that made the decision… maybe. But it was an inappropriate move either way…
I long for the day that we make the “golden parachute” a literal reality instead of just a figure of speech.
“the money should come in handy for when he wants to offer additional awards to scientists who come up with evidence that global warming is a myth.”
As opposed the the other Climate Alarmists who work totally for free.
@stevejust: Vlad the Impaler got a bad rap. He was a so-so leader who’s only transgression was imposing a rather unique form of torture on convicted criminals. Torture, by the way, was pretty standard capital punishment in those days. He wasn’t any better or worse than any other leader of the day in that geographic region, just unique.
@Bladefist: No they didn’t. Often, they disregard stock holder’s opinions on golden parachutes. And stock holders are ”owners”.
So we have high placed employees abusing the system.