BofA, Goldman And More: 11 Worst CEO Slip-Ups Of 2011

What with Occupy Wall Street and all, CEOs may be under even more scrutiny than usual this year. So it's fitting that there's been no shortage of notable quotables from corporate America's chief executives.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan faced especially high levels of criticism of late, largely due to his company mishandling various PR flops, from allegedly improper foreclosures to the now infamous debit fee flop. But Moynihan didn't make the situation easy for himself either, instead arguing at different points that his company had a "right to make a profit" and that the outside world didn't realize "how much good" his employees do.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings likewise hasn't handled adverse reactions to his business decisions all too smothly. After raising the price of subsciptions for the DVD mail and streaming video service, Hastings offered a letter of apology beginning with the words "I messed up." However, the email itself may have been an even worse blunder than the one for which he was apologizing: in it, he announced that Netflix's streaming and DVD services would henceforth be separated -- an idea so unpopular that the company scrapped it just six weeks later.

Those blunders aside, along with the reality of declining national median income, CEOs have still enjoyed huge paydays in the first years of the recovery. But as it happens, most shareholders say executive pay levels are fine as currently constructed. Must not bother them that some of the country's chief executives now earn more than their entire company pays in income tax, such as Cisco CEO John Chambers, who made $18 million last year.

Here are the 11 most embarrassing CEO quotes of 2011:

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Comments

[alunsulen]

09:15 AM on 12/25/2011

Biden says, "Murder will continue to rise, rape will continue to rise, all crime will continue to rise." and that's something the libs are proud of.

[tmrn31m]

04:13 AM on 12/26/2011

Its the republicans who are doing the raping and murdering. Of the American people. Some of the execs are criminals. They should be dealt with accordingly, tossed in prison, assets frozen, and not given millions in undeserved and unearned bonuses.

[Elemeno P]

04:28 AM on 12/25/2011

BoA chairman thinks his company has a RIGHT to make a profit? Entitled much? How about if you offer a service with enough utility and value-added then the consumer will pay you for it - and if you are well run and efficient enough you will earn a profit.

[alunsulen]

09:15 AM on 12/25/2011

Clear your dues and go elsewhere if you don't like BoA. How difficult is that, lib?

[dadw5boys]

11:44 PM on 12/24/2011

Goldman Sach's CEO also said " We are doing God's work " when being questioned about the Fraud laiden Subprime Loan failure and his companys products.

[tmrn31m]

04:15 AM on 12/26/2011

Technically, the devil is one of gods fallen angels. He must be of that ilk.

[ttsgw]

03:47 PM on 12/23/2011

These are as big clowns as the GOP candidates.

[laterthanyouthink]

06:31 AM on 12/23/2011

'I Simply Do Not Know Where The Money Is'

Think, man!

What pants were you wearing?

[Jeffrey Bryson]

01:02 PM on 12/23/2011

It's rare that I'll F/F over a single joke, but your post seems to call for it.

[solidtartan]

07:43 AM on 12/22/2011

In the case of Zuckerburg I find it reprehensible that a man admitting to mistakes makes him a target for ridicule. Even my 5 year old knows everyone makes mistakes. A better person admits them and apologizes where necessary.

[tacevad]

07:55 PM on 12/21/2011

Almost any of these quotes could be attributed to Marie Antoinette, the same mindset lives on

[Ajaxcain]

09:54 AM on 12/22/2011

"It is quite certain that in seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness. The King seems to understand this truth."

This is a quotation from the fine lady to whom you refer. Educate yourself.

[tacevad]

10:50 AM on 12/22/2011

So you confirm that she was a liar as well astre haute

[RobJames]

02:58 AM on 12/23/2011

I believe that was said at her coronation....yet she let the people of France starve....that's why she lost her head.

[muck-raker]

06:36 PM on 12/21/2011

I am waiting patiently for Blankfien of Gold in Sacks to come out and say....................

.............................I AM NOT A CROOK.............................heh heh

[RobJames]

02:59 AM on 12/23/2011

Like Nixon, noboby would believe him.

[yoozum]

03:31 PM on 12/21/2011

"our employees basically like us."

Only on HP, where everyone is assumed to hate big corporations, is this considered to be a dumb quote.

[Jbratton67]

03:18 PM on 12/21/2011

Boy, I would hate to be the children of these despised men. They will inherit millions of dollars and but also carry the Scarlet Letter of their family name, which to most will mean their families stole from the citizens of the world using quasi-criminal methods. Shame is so costly.

[Irish Stew]

10:37 AM on 12/21/2011

I don't begrudge anyone a dollar but being wealthy in this nation right now means the game is rigged and how you got that money is questionable and susspect. If you are up to your ears in shady deals and paying politicians to pass legislation to profit oneself at the expence and detriment of America and it's people your crooked self serving efforts are not ok. Business as usual when the Republicans are talking about cutting cancer research funds and school lunches and repealing child labor laws after they crashed the economy is unacceptable. That kind of cold hearted arrogance belongs in the past where it came from. The early years of the industrial revolution gave birth to that kind of calous hateful rheteric and turned it's back on human suffering and exploitation of workers and we created laws to protect workers and children and we became a civilized nation that cared about racism and poverty and sickness and tried to do something about those modern plagues. If you want to hoard your money or want more money then please take everything you can get your greedy hands on and then leave the country and take your right wing lies with you.
To feed a hungry child is not a communist plot. It's what Christ asked mankind to do long before Marx ever put a pen to paper.

[ema123]

12:47 PM on 12/24/2011

So true, people admire the Steve Jobs, Bill Gates that actually created real wealth, created 1000s of jobs and made others wealthy also, they did work hard and earned thier billions. But selling fraudulent MBS as AAA sceurities, selling investments to unsuspecting clients who trusted your advice then betting against them, corrupting the system so that the rules favor only you, destroying the wealth of millions, cost millions their jobs, driving the economy over the cliff and then getting saved by millions of the little taxpayers and showing scorn for them, is pure arrogance and sociopathic behavior. and it is both the wall street bankers and thier GOP co conspirators

[Angel Whitebird]

09:38 AM on 12/21/2011

Morons!..They may have alot of money but have no brains!. Just goes to show just because your rich doesnt mean your smart.Open mouth, insert foot!!

[muck-raker]

06:38 PM on 12/21/2011

your bio is so true......it hurts.

[ema123]

12:50 PM on 12/24/2011

They proved how "smart" they were when they ran their banks into the gutter along with the economy and our Congress and Bush Administration bailed them out when they trhough a tantrum claiming the world would end without the bailout, the only world that would have ended was theirs. Better not to have bailed them out because main street didnt escape the suffering, only they did.

[tmrn31m]

04:26 AM on 12/26/2011

The banks should never have been bailed out. The property owners should have got all the bailout money to put down on their principals, circumventing the crooks... I mean bankers. At least people who deserve the money would have got it instead of bankers getting multimillion dollar bonuses for lying, stealing and corrupting our government. All companies who knowingly mislead clients should have to reimburse those clients out of the CEO, CFO, COO Board of directors and all other bank executives pockets, accounts and assets. Not out of depositors accounts.

[Mike Rock]

08:39 AM on 12/21/2011

We desperately need a global wealth cap of $100 million. Nobody needs more than that, and concentrations of wealth more severe than that are leading us to extinction.

We need to re-calibrate the global financial system to reward environmentally positive actions and severely punish environmentally destructive actions.

We need to establish a global treason act that will capture or kill billionaires who resist these measures.

[santacruzbluz]

09:18 AM on 12/21/2011

I don't know that it even needs to be that high, but a cap is definitely needed. For those with a pathological need to accumulate even more, there will be charity organizations for them to donate the excess funds to. They don't need them, and they can be put to good use by same people.

[vavet]

06:29 PM on 12/21/2011

Gee Mike, why don't you tell us how you really feel? Kill the super rich? Stalin and Mao did it. Why not?

[tmrn31m]

04:45 AM on 12/26/2011

You make it seem like they went from good to bad. This is not the case. They simply went from bad to slightly worse. Poor to still poor. Abused to abused. Russia and China had problems long before either mao or stalin. The problem with power is that it must never be absolute no matter the style of governance. All people are corruptible. Failure to remember this simple tenant is what leads to all societal destruction. Or another way to say it is: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Read "Animal Farm" or "1984". No one is saying kill the rich. But it is time for the rich to stop their long war against the populace. Look at american history. 1955 for example. A conservative time in our history. A time of great growth both economically and as a nationally. Check the tax rates then. Since this is the time that republicans seem to clamor for, I say give it to them. Tax rates as high as 90%. Todays business model so pushed by corporate america is in their interest, not the interest of america and they get politicians to collude with them against the people. Time to stop buying the B.S.. Time for America to be a land of the FREE, not subservient to corporate wishes.

[KadejaLatefah]

08:03 AM on 12/21/2011

"After securities firm MF Global's bankruptcy, which came with the announcement that they had misplaced billions in customer funds former CEO Jon Corzine testimony boiled down to these nine words: "I simply do not know where the money is."" REALLY??? open your 'checkbook" and follow the entries !! I balance my check book each month and so do my friends and coworkers why can't a financial company?? close him in a cell with some paper, a calculator and a pencil & figure it out!!

[KadejaLatefah]

08:01 AM on 12/21/2011

Re: CEO Mark Zuckerburg - you are using a classic businessman's trick - do whatever you want and apologize if & when you get caught. Here is my thought...if not for Facebook would Mark Zuckerburg even have any friends????