Dick Grasso was the former chairman
and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange.
Grasso had to resign in 2003, when shocked
worthies discovered that he had somehow
maneuvered his way into receiving a staggering
personal payout of $140 million dollars in a year.
The guy primarily responsible for Grasso's
stunningly generous compensation was
the chairman of the compensation committee
of the New York Stock Exchange, a prominent
New York investment banker named Ken Langone.
When New York State Attorney General
Eliot Spitzer demanded that Grasso
give back a hundred million dollars
of his massive pay, Langone went
to the mattresses.
Check this out: FORTUNE magazine,
October 18, 2004, page 287.
"They got the wrong fucking guy," Langone
told FORTUNE during one of a series of
incendiary conversations. "I'm nuts,
I'm rich, and boy do I love a fight.
I'm going to make them shit in their pants.
When I get through with these fucking
captains of industry, they're going to
wish they were in a Cuisinart – at high speed."
He adds: "If Grasso gives back a fucking
nickel, I'll never talk to him again."
Yes sirree, Mr. and Mrs. America, your
retirement funds are safe with these guys.
I'd suggest loading up on Worldcom
and Enron – I mean, it's the New York
Stock Exchange, how bad could it be?
