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Photograph of Code Pink activists heckling Fuld as he heads to Congress by Susan Walsh/AP
Richard "Dick" Fuld, the CEO who led the once-storied Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy, was defensive when questioned by the House Oversight Committee yesterday. The NY Times reports he "blamed the news media. He blamed the short-sellers. He blamed the government, as well as what he characterized as an 'extraordinary run on the bank.'" but "never really blamed himself." Fuld did take responsibility for the collapse, and said he'd wonder for the rest of his life how he could have done something differently.
Regarding fat cat pay, when Chair Henry Waxman asked him, "You've been able to pocket close to half a billion dollars [since 2000] and my question to you is that fair for a CEO of a company that's now bankrupt? It's just unimaginable to so many people," Fuld said, "I think for the years you're talking about here I believe my cash compensation was close to 60 million and the amount I took out of the company over and above that was closer to 250 million. Still a large number though."
Though he admitted he was caught off guard by the crisis (for instance, he thought the mortgage crisis just affected residential mortgages--not commercial ones as well), the Financial Times noted an April e-mail Fuld sent his chief legal officer about a meeting with Treasury Secretary Pualson: "Mr Paulson, the former chief executive of Goldman Sachs, had a 'worried view' about Merrill Lynch but that Lehman had a 'huge brand' with the US Treasury." And Fuld also wondered why Lehman wasn't bailed out, when other firms were.
Additionally, journalist Vicky Ward confirmed that Fuld had been punched in the face last month, citing two sources (see video of Ward on CNBC). On September 22, Dealbreaker had posted some rumors about Fuld being hurt in some way (run over by a cab, panic attack)--"Dick Fuld had audacity to use the Lehman gym [on Sunday] and got punched in the face."
Today, AIG executives will speak to the committee.
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Wow... if F. Murray Abraham and Mr. Burns had a baby, he would be it.
Lynch? Tar and feather? Abu Gharib?
First pic is classic.
Second photo he looks like a rat.
money really can buy you happiness...
These golden parachute CEO's really have no soul. I understand that they have the ultimate responsibility of making things work but they should not be receiving this kind of money for running a company into the ground. It's sick and greedy.
I don't know who to root for in that picture. Lehman Brothers versus Code Pink? It's like when the Cowboys play the Eagles.
Heh, that first photo is indeed priceless. The problem with these guys, and American culture in general, is that when you are rich you think you are special. You don't reflect on how you are extremely lucky or blessed, you just tell yourself that you deserve it.
Now matter how he tries to justify what happened, this greedy pig, and the others like him, will still live well while the thousands of employees he supposedly did not put out of work are now scrambling. I'm surprised all he got was punched in the face.
I am shocked someone had the guts to put a fist in his face. There are alot of internet tough guys out there who claim to want to piece of him - it's nice to see someone got one.
I also applaud his assailant for showing restraint and not beating him after he was on the ground.
This guy is just a well-connected figurehead. Blame the executives and shareholders who put this guy in charge. Blame all the consumers who ran up the prices of housing because credit was cheap and they thought that "real estate is a good investment." If the market is acting a certain way, this guy's job is to make sure the profits are good while protecting the company. His company WAS protected in these kinds of investments, unfortunately the financials are all failing hard and people like AIG can't are unable to cover the losses. Even a year ago when people were saying that the real estate market was slowing, did anyone expect a bank like Washington Mutual to fall? Come on.
playing the blame game like dirty rangel...
Lehman CEO Fuld Blames Everyone But Not Himself
Really? How do you explain this quote: "I want to be very clear," Fuld said. "I take full responsibility for the decisions I made and for the actions I took."
Okay, he didn't say, "It's my fault that Lehman went bust." But he admitted that there are things he would have done differently in hindsight. And he essentially apologized. And it wasn't entirely his fault.
Also, he didn't get any severance or golden parachute or other reward for the company tanking. The vast majority of money he made was before things went bad. And he personally lost about $700 million in stock value during the course of the last year.
Does any of that make him a hero? Absolutely not. An innocent? No. Should we feel sorry for him? Probably not. Executive compensation is broken in this country, I agree. But trying to place all the blame on this one guy is not going to help anything.
"But trying to place all the blame on this one guy is not going to help anything."
Who suggested we stop at him?
If these jagoffs have their assets frozen and go to jail, it may keep others from doing it again.
What's the typical jail term for GTA/boosting a $1000 car? Go up from there.
Some of the comments I have heard/read regarding his compensation are ridiculous..
As LinkMan pointed out the majority of his comp was not recieved as a result of Lehman going bust, but was recieved while the company was performing very well..he also lost approx. $700mm in the Lehman filing. Thats a lot of dough..even for someone who already has a lot to begin with...
From what I understand, Dick Fuld was a Lehman lifer -- it is where he started his career during the late 60s and where he worked for his entire professional career. He rose the ranks from a commercial paper trader to the position of CEO-- clearly the guy is extremely intelligent and I do not think that it is unjust for him to recieve $500mm in compensation while at the helm of one of America's largest stand alone securities firms. It is a job that very very few are qualified to do.
Sure he may have made some *wrong* decisions but hindsight is 20/20... though I guess all of the people with opinions on the matter had a crystal ball and saw this all coming. If so, I hope you were one of those shorting Lehman stock.
@handsomedevil
rich people think they're special because people without money think it takes luck to make it
If he did anything illegal, he should be prosecuted and if convicted, go to jail and fined heavily. But, alas, I am but a dreamer.
if anything, those idiot representatives putting on a show should be investigated for taking money from Fannie and Freddie, for pushing the system to make loans to people with no ability to pay and financing the system with Chinese debt. This is a Democrat issue as well, as its been in the works for over 15 years now and they've taken more of the mortgage related contributions. I wish people would take off their ideological blinders and vote people out of office regardless or party... especially this time around - considering the mess that we're all left with.
If you were fired from work today for poor performance and they they offered you severance, would you accept it?
This guy is just a corporate drone for the ELITE. We should blame those who pt him there and himself.
This is why we need to elect Palin/McCain, a pair of Mavericks who will take on Washington and clean up Wall Street and make sure we'll all have a secure future! McCain will lay out his detailed plans tonight during the townhall when he can address the American people directly without the filters by the liberal media. What plans does Barack Hussein Obama have to fix the economy? Tax the middle class down to the poor class then they can go on welfare and drive the American engine down even more!
Palin/McCain 2008!
This is getting tired.. Obama's tax plan would only increase taxes on people making more than $250,000.
Polituro, that is if you believe any politicians promises (either party). We are left with a big mess - I really don't think if it came to cutting entitlements and welfare or increasing taxes on people even below 250k, Obama with a Democrat controlled congress would blink an eye on increasing taxes -- particularly with gov't receipts going down. We've already seen both of these guys flip allover the place on a number of issues.
Too bad this story doesn't end like the remake of Fun with Dick and Jane. Slime like him deserve to lose everything.
I still don't understand what makes him slime? What did he do that was unethical/illegal besides make money? No one has explained that yet.
#24 - it's because (to some folks) he's creepy looking - not helped by the photos the media chooses to run on this story.
I have no doubt there are greedy CEO's, stupid CEO's with the potential to lead their company and employees to ruin. But ultimately these CEO's have to answer to stockholders and executive committees. And to the marketplace. Now these fallen CEO's may depart with golden parachutes - but these were given out by his employers. As #18 alludes, would you turn down a compensation package if you were dismissed, or if you had negotiated that as part of your contract?
On the other hand, our representatives in Washington have no one to answer to. Sure, they may face re-election every few years, and if their constituents bother to vote, there may be a change. But once in office, they only answer to special interests that have the most to offer. These folks can invade other countries, order troops off to war, raise your taxes, take your property via eminent domain -- they answer to no one. Thus we have the mess we have today in our government - because there is no accountability.
I'd rather punch Dick Cheney or Alan Greenspan, thank you.
Their heads should grace the Arlington Memorial bridge.
And guess what people? Most of these CEO's are DEMOCRATS!! Bet you won't find that in any mainstream media report.
And if you check further you will find that Democrat presidents were the ones consistantly pushing through (with help from mostly democratic senators and representative but all with the help of some sorry rebulicans - thus I have no real faith in any politican)bills or acts that allowed more and more of this to continue.
As for Fuld, what did he do that was wrong? Sorry, hate to ask but necessary. He did absolutely nothing (that I have seen in any media) to substantiate he conducted any illegal activity. If he was responsible for the fall of the company through incompetence or illegal activity then the state or federal government would have a right to prosecute.
We all are greedy to some degree. He had the opportunity to make serious money and he did. Unfortunately he chose to ignore the many signs of a forthcoming crisis. Is that criminal? Let the state and feds decide. I would go for holding him responsible. We hold the Captains of US Warships responsible for the most inane thing even if they had no knowledge of that thing....so why not Company Execs who are Captains of Finance and use our money to increase their companies standing and their own.
Just my thoughts
"These golden parachute CEO's really have no soul. I understand that they have the ultimate responsibility of making things work but they should not be receiving this kind of money for running a company into the ground. It's sick and greedy."
""If you were fired from work today for poor performance and they they offered you severance, would you accept it?""
If I were fired from a job for poor performance, I would not get a severance offer. Neither would 90% of the American population. That's why the goal in your working life should be to avoid the stigma of being fired by doing your job well. Being fired is supposed to be bad!
That's why this whole Golden Parachute things seems extremely unfair. These Executives make hundreds of millions of dollars and when they screw up, we reward them? What kind of sense does that make???
Easy solution; either the Government or the People should get hold of all their asset (house, cars, jewelry, 401k and their kids college saving plan) and action the items on eBay. This will send a clear message to all the CEO and whoever is involved with corruption/ignorance. We cannot allow them to skate out of this one, MAKE THEM PAY!!!
In God we Trust! Who else is there?
We need Robin Hood back.