“Alas, after a certain age every man is responsible for his face.” — Albert Camus
Richard S. Fuld, Jr. (62) Former CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings
Our friend greed is back in the news. Dick Fuld, the guy who folded Lehman Bro’s, joins the ranks of Blagojevich, Thain and Bernie Madoff, crooks who just won’t go away. The New York Times reported that just before bailing out of the doomed firm, the now unemployed executive had a homemade golden parachute fitted up just in case. While preparing the historic investment firm for bankruptcy and laying off some 20,000 workers, the money maestro managed to find the time to sell the Florida mansion he bought in 2004. Unfortunately, with the housing market being what it is, he took a real hit on this deal. Depreciation on the luxury beachfront estate fell like Lehman Brothers stock; his $13.75 million investment brought in a return of a meager $100! The good news is that it was the bargain of a lifetime for the lucky buyer – Kathleen Fuld.
Monde Dane Posts on Greed
Aerial view of Kathleen Fuld’s $100 Jupiter Beach mansion
With the plethora of news on executive greed and worker layoffs I can’t help but think of the prototype executive evil-doer Gordon Gekko in the 1986 movie Wall Street. This maybe a good time to revisit Gekko’s gospel on greed.
“The point is,
ladies and gentlemen,
that greed,
for lack of a better word,
is good.
Greed is right.
Greed works.
Greed clarifies,
cuts through
and captures the essence
of the evolutionary spirit.
Greed in all of its forms;
greed for life,
for money,
for love,
knowledge,
has marked the upward surge of mankind.
And greed,
you mark my words,
will save not only Teldar Paper
but that other malfunctioning corporation
called the USA.
Thank you very much.“
Take note Mr. Obama, you may find a use for Guantanamo after all.
