C.E.O. of the Day: John A. Thain - Merrill Lynch

John A. Thain
The last of the Chairmen/C.E.O's of Merrill Lynch before the Bank of America merger
Resigned Jan. 22, 2009 after losses were found to be far greater than projected for the Company - Was supposed to assume the position of president of global banking, securities, and wealth management (freals?)
Former C.E.O. of the NYSE
Was President/C.E.O. of Goldman Sachs
He made $300 million in stock at G.S. and stabbed Jon Corzine in the back
After leaving Goldman he had his choice between Citigroup and Merrill Lynch to head up
Merrill had the highest offer: a $15million signing bonus, with $50 million a yr. in compensation, $120 million a yr. if you add stock bonuses etc...
He received $83.1 million in 2007, earning him an honorable mention as one of the highest paid Executives among the S&P 500 companies
Mentioned to the compensation committee at M.L. that he should be paid $10 million for "saving" M.L. by selling it to Bank of America
Jan. 16, 2009 - Bank of America reported that Merrill suffered a loss of $15 billion for the 4th quarter of 2008
On Jan. 22, 2009, it was revealed how John A. Thain struggled to keep Merrill Lynch afloat in early 2008 - Office Renovations, that's the key!
The trick to hiding any record loss is to cover it up with 2 area rugs totaling $131,000. That won't just do, ya gots ta put some feng shui up in it: $68, 000 antique credenza, 4 pairs of $28,000 curtains, $87,000 guest chairs, $11,000 fabric for a Roman shade, $25,000 mahogany pedestal table, $15,000 sofa,
$11,000 custom coffee table, $24,000 Regency chairs, $18,000 George IV Desk, $2700 for 6 wall sconces, 6 dining room chairs for $37,000, $5,000 mirror, $13,000 chandelier, 40 yards of $5,000 fabric for the walls, $1400 waste can, and what good is an executive office without that $35,000 commode with legs... Did I hit $1.22 million yet? Surely the interior decorator made it just under the $2 million corporate money budget he set for all of that.