bloomberg.com:
Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- John Thain, the former chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch & Co. who was accused of overspending on an office renovation as the broker teetered, said he should have bought less-expensive furniture at Ikea.
The Deeper Truth About John Thain's Ouster from Bank of America - TIME
John Thain's $87000 Rug - Page 1 - The Daily Beast
John Thain's Life Would Be Different If He Had Purchased an Ektorp
More Pigs at the Trough: What Enron and WorldCom Can Teach Us About Goldman and AIG
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
This man was McCains first choice to head the treasury.
it is astounding how far you can get with no moral compass. It is the new standard... giggles and titters from the Wharton business school audience. These "schools", are no more than breeding grounds for the next generation of 'playas" ready to game the system. There was a recent special on about Watergate and as the bile began to fill the back of ones throat towards the end of the documentary, they asked John Dean "the honest one" what the lesson was to be"learned" from Watergate... His reply.. "Don't get caught"
There was nothing wrong with the old office furnishings in the first place. What, there were rips in the sofas and chairs, moths had eaten the carpet, his desk had a broken top, the leaky roof had ruined his credenza, his private bathroom had a stopped-up toilet, the heat didn't work in the winter?
This is all about ostentation and conspicuous consumption to hide a weak ego.
Like Richard Hatch, Rod Blagojevich, Kim Kardashian, and Paris Hilton, Thain is addicted to the spot light.
So long as people will pay to spectate, he will continue to exhibit . . . however offensively.
Right about now, he's thriving upon your hatred. That justifies his need for $$$ security, which justifies his self-importance, which will justify his $$$ book deal, which will rake in big bucks, which will justify his uber-inflated ego, which will solidify his existence as a legend in his own mind, which will land him a slot in the next Republican Administration as head of the Federal Reserve. Who better than a born-again Christian who knows how to play the system?
Dude, you are a God. Just keep talking.
Thain,
Shut up. Good Lord. Just shut up.
I too, always prefer it when they talk about my flatulence and not my pedophilia. It's so much more relevant !
lol
if that's supposed to be a joke... it's not funny.
How about: No remodeling at all??
Nope?
What a self-entitled excuse for a true human being.
Thanks, my thought exactly...a little sacrifice goes a long way.
Greedy, arrogant, sarcastic, immoral,
hollow man.
My new toilet cost me $92.79; tax included.
I installed it myself.
I am thrifty.
John Thain ( and people like him) are the reason we need a better, progressive tax system.
Anyone earning more than $1,000,000 a year should pay 55% of their income in federal income taxes.
Also, we need a public health care option or Medicare For All. US Congressman Dennis Kucinich has submitted HR676, Medicare For All. Go to his web page and sign his petition.
We need to roll back the Reagan tax cuts.
With that kind offer from the swedish retailer, yes, of course you could have accepted it and refurnished your office IKEA style.
But who says that Merrill Lynch had enough resources to actually pay for an IKEA office at the regular prices? Aren't you exaggerating a bit here?
Hopefully he goes broke, and has to buy from thrift shops!
just like a lot of his former customers.
arrogance, disdain, and snobbery--
no one questions what Oprah or any other uber successful person
is spending on the furnishing of their homes or offices--
the key word is successful
John Thane was not running a successful business at the time of this amazing spending spree
that is why a decorating budget of 1.2million is so heinous...
if Thane had made everthing right and been the hero
--saving billions of investment dollars from going down the toilet
no one would have gotten upset about the cost of an antique commode!
This tr0ll ought to tie a few heavy chains and jump in the Hudson. He has single handedly destroyed the dreams of young parents and sealed the fate of so many retirees - it'd be a shame if he didn't. To his admission I say, No $hit Sherlock!
I've never understood why CEOs of publicly traded companies get millions in compensation, even though year-on-year revenues are negative? The only explanation that I've been able to come up with is that stock-based ownership offers the stock holder a wild-a$$ promise of future returns and a pittance in dividends, while the "insiders" like Thain r@pe and pi//age the system - helmsmen of d00m.
Our system is flawed. Stockholders are sometimes the last to profit from owning common stock.
The executives and the boards of directors pay themselves. Stockholders do not have any say in corporate compensation.
I have had my dividends cut to ZERO on three companies I own stock in and two companies cut dividends 50%. I am very upset about it but all I can do is complain. I approve of the legislation that some members of Congress are proposing that would allow shareholders to vote on executive compensation.
How did Thain "single-handedly destroy the dreams of young parents and sealed the fate of so many retirees?"
Do you have any idea what you are talking about?
Thain doesn't even deserve blame for the downfall of Merrill Lynch, in fact he saved it. Stan O'Neal, the previous CEO, was the one who bought into the mortgage securitization craze right before it blew up, not Thain.
You think?
Loading comments…
First Posted: 09-18-09 11:30 AM | Updated: 09-18-09 11:36 AM