Photo: John Thain, CEO of Merrill Lynch
In one of the most tone deaf and arrogant moves of all time, Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain went to the board of directors and demanded that he receive his $10 million bonus. In this environment? Unbelieveable.
What makes it even more disgraceful is that John Thain was the highest paid CEO in the S&P 500 in 2007, taking home $83.1 million last year. I know, that’s only about $40 million after taxes, but still! To be asking for a $10M bonus right now is about the most arrogant thing I have ever heard. Let’s not forget, during his time at Goldman Sachs, he accumulated more than $300 million in stock. What a pig!
This move was so stupid he made Senate Majority leader Harry “The War is Lost” Reid sound smart,
“While American families struggle to keep their jobs and their homes, I question the chutzpah of asking for a $10 million taxpayer-subsidized bonus.”
Because of public pressure, Thain is not getting his bonus, but it’s not for lack of trying.
And what exactly had John Thain done this year to demand his $10M bonus? The image below comes from an April New York Post article. As you can see, the stock was then in the high 40’s. At the time of the fire sale, it was in the teens and heading for the big donut.
On Thain’s watch, Merrill Lynch lost $52 billion in mortgage related investments. He laid off found synergies and reduced the workforce by thousands of employees. Finally, he was forced, after 94 years of independence, to sell the legendary firm in a fire sale to Bank of America.
“Thain” should become a verb to describe somebody who is greedy, tone deaf, arrogant and indifferent to the suffering of those around them.