Here is a roster of some of the fallen ones.
Jimmy Cayne Former CEO Bear Stearns - latest compensation $32.1 million. He led Bear Stearns for 15 years. He resigned last January. Bear Stearns was acquired by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) for $10.00 a share. He and his wife purchased two luxury apartments at the Plaza.
Richard Fuld Former CEO Lehman Brothers - Latest compensation $34.4 million. Subpoenaed by federal investigators to determine if he misled investors at Lehman. Executives at Barclays Capital (NYSE: BCS) bought Lehman's US assets.
Kerry Killinger Former CEO WaMu - latest compensation $4.5 million. He became CEO in 1990 and built WaMU into one of the largest US mortgage writers. He offered sub prime mortgages which led to WaMU's rapid growth. He was ousted in September when WaMU was sold to JPMorgan.
Angelo Mozilo Former CEO Countrywide - latest compensation $132 million. He helped build Countrywide into one of the country's largest lenders. A host of class action lawsuits have been filed against Countrywide, which is under investigation by the SEC. Countrywide was sold to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) in January.
David Mudd former CEO Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) - latest compensation $13.4 million. He became CEO of Fannie Mae, the largest US mortgage finance company in 2004. He left when the government took control of Fannie Mae. He got a 7% rise in pay in 2007 while the company lost $2.5 billion.
Stan O'Neal Former CEO Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) - latest compensation $162 million. He left Merrill in 2007 and since then a slew of lawsuits have been filed against him. Shareholders approved the sale of Merrill to Bank of America. He is now held in contempt by the firm's founders.
Martin Sullivan Former CEO of AIG (NYSE: AIG) - latest compensation $14.3 million. Joined AIG as a 17-year-old and climbed to the top of the ladder. Failed to stop the reckless trading in derivatives.
Richard Syron Former CEO Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) latest compensation $13.4 million He was formerly chief executive at Thermo Electron Corp and joined Freddie Mac in 2003. He took additional risks by allowing mortgage financing outside Freddie Mac's lending guidelines. He stepped down in September when Freddie Mac was taken over by the government.
Ken Thompson Former CEO Wachovia (NYSE: WB) - latest compensation $15 million. Wachovia acquired Golden West Financial in 2006 at the height of the housing bubble. He was removed after 32 years when the bank had a first quarter loss of $708 million
What do you think should happen next?
Will Rich Ross really have a positive impact on Disney's movie operations?
Consumers sick of recession, may spend extra on holidays
Corrections, seasonality and Santa Claus
