Zeitgeist: Addendum.....

The Grandest Conspiracy of All ~Meet The Real Terrorists~


THEY HAVE DONE MORE DAMAGE TO THIS COUNTRY THAN AL QUIDA COULD HAVE EVER ACCOMPLISHED


No Conspiracies? I say bullshit, this was the granddaddy of all conspiracies




CEOs: (From left) Robert Willumstad (July 2008-September 2008), Martin Sullivan (2005-2008), Maurice (Hank) Greenberg (1968-2005)

Company: American International Group (AIG). world's largest insurance firm

On their watch: In Willumstad's brief tenure, AIG stock plunged from around $27 a share
to $2 a share, and the ailing firm agreed to an $85 billion government bailout. Sullivan left
after two quarters of record losses and $20 billion in sub prime-mortgage-related losses.
Greenberg was credited with shaping AIG into the world's largest insurer but was forced
out in 2005 due to a fraud investigation. No charges were filed against him.

Payout: $7 million for Willumstad's three months of work, $47 million for Sullivan and for Greenberg, despite the investigation, a 12 percent stake in AIG. That stake, however, isn't worth what it was once was. After the government bailout, Greenberg's $3billion interest nearly disappeared, and he dropped off the Forbes list of the richest people in the world





CEO: Ken Thompson

Company: Wachovia

On his watch: Shareholders called for his ouster at their annual meeting in April 2008 following a first-quarter loss and a dividend cut of 41 percent. Thompson had earlier promised the dividend would not be cut. He also came under fire for his $25 billion purchase of home lender Golden West, a deal he made at the height of the housing boom. He is shown here (at left) arriving at the April meeting. He resigned the next month.

Payout: $8.7 million

CEO: Michael Perry

Company: IndyMac Bank

On his watch: The bank collapsed in July 2008, in what regulators called the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Despite mouting losses from delinquent loans in 2007, Perry insisted in December that the bank would be profitable by the second half of 2008. A protege of former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, Perry was 45 when he was removed from his 15-year tenure as CEO during the FDIC's takeover.

Payout: Unknown. Forbes, however, listed Perry's five-year compensation total from IndyMac as $37.49 million.

CEOS Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron

Company: Fannie Mae (Mudd) and Freddie Mac (Syron)

On there watch: Earlier this year, Mudd predicted Fannie would "feast" on the reduced competition in the mortgage insurer suffered four consecutive quarters in the red amid the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression. Likewise, Syron reportedly rejected internal warnings that could have protected Freddie from the crises that ultimately brought it down. Fannie shareholders lost $52 billion as the stock plummeted 83 percent,while Freddie shareholders watched $36 billion go down the drain as its share price slumped 85 percent and its value sank to negative $5.6 billion. By the time the U.S. government extended a $2.25 billion credit line to each in July, Fannie's debts had reached $800 billion and Freddie's had reached $740 billion.

Payout: Zero. Regulators axed contract provisions that would have awarded both men hefty exit packages. Mudd was set to receive $9.3 million in exit pay, on top of his $12.4 million in salary, bonuses and stock profits. Syron's exit package could have amounted to at least $14.1 million. He has made $17.1 million in salary, bonuses and stock profits since becoming CEO in 2003.

CEO: Richard Fuld

Company: Lehman Brothers

On his watch: The firm declared bankruptcy on Sept. 15. In April he proclaimed to shareholders that "the worst is behind us," but for months he had dodged queries about the firm's exposure to toxic subprime debt.

Payout $22 million

CEO: Angelo Mozilo

Company: Country Financial

On his watch: The founder of the ill-fated mortgage giant, Angelo Mozilo, 69, was at the helm during the subprime fiasco that led to the broader credit crisis, Mozilo swore Countrywide would ride out the turmoil and emerge bigger than ever. Instead, he cashed out his stock options as Countrywide headed into a nosedive this year. To date, the company's worth has shrunk from about $25 billion to $2.5 billion.

Payout: $121.5 million. Mozilo gave up $36.4 million in severance pay, but is under SEC investigation for his $121.5 million stock gains.

CEO: Stanley O'Neal

Company: Merrill Lynch

On his watch: Shortly before his ouster last October, Merrill reported $7.9 billion in write-downs related to O'Neal's blundering forays into risky subprime-mortgage territory. O'Neal had snatched up subprime lender First Financial in late 2006, a move Portfolio magazine had likened to having "all the strategic wisdom of a foray into Havana real estate in 1959." Merrill's write-downs have since climbed to $45 billion.

Payout: $161.5 million

CEO: Charles Prince

Company: Citigroup

On his watch: Before he stepped down in November 2007, Citigroup, the world's largest bank, reported a 57 percent drop in quarterly earnings and lost nearly a quarter of its market value. "It is my judgment that -given the size of the recent losses in our mortgage-backed securities business, the only honorable course for me to take as chief executive officer is to step down, "he said.

Payout: $68 million

CEO: Jimmy Cayne

Company: Bear Stearns

On his watch: After serving as CEO for 15 years, Jimmy Cayne was conspicuously absent in the firm's final months. When Bear first disclosed mortgage losses last year, Cayne was at a Nashville bridge tournament. Eight months later, as Bear's non-executive chairman and as the company began its final descent, Cayne was at the North American Bridge Championships, where he could not be reached. Bear was sold days later to JPMorgan Chase at the bargain-basement price of about $10 a share, down from about $170 a share in 2007. Cayne had been worth about $1 billion in 2007, before Bear's demise shaved his savings down to about $600 million.

Payout: $61.3 million. Cayne and his wife dumped their Bear stock during the JPMorgan takeover. He will also receive another $4.6 million in JPMorgan stock.