Over the weekend, the New York Post reported that former Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) Chief Executive Sandy Weill and his family flew on a company jet for a vacation in Mexico weeks after the New York-based bank received a $45 billion bailout from the federal government and said it would slash 75,000 jobs. Today, the now-disgraced banker said he will give up the perkAccording to the Wall Street Journal, "Weill's office said in a statement on Monday morning that `in light of the unprecedented circumstances that Citi finds itself in' he decided to stop using Citi aircraft immediately." Wow, if you did not know any better you would have thought he had given up his left arm instead of a seat on a luxurious jet.
This whole episode is disgusting.
When Weill was forced out as CEO in 2003, he wasn't fired. Instead, he stayed on as chairman of the New York-based bank until 2006. Then he was rewarded with a nice golden parachute, which guaranteed access to the firm's corporate jets until 2016. His personal fortune is estimated at more than $1.3 billion.
As the U.K.'s Guardian noted, "In addition to access to company aircraft, Weill's compensation into retirement included provisions for $525,000 of transportation costs, $300,000 of security expenses, $86,000 of financial and tax-planning fees, $62,000 of medical and dental insurance premiums and $901,000 of tax reimbursements."
The firm, which lost $8.3 billion in the fourth quarter, canceled its order for a new $52 million jet after President Obama got ticked off. Its share price is in ruins and the financial supermarket strategy that Weill championed has been scrapped. Weill is the last person who deserved to be treated like a king by Citigroup.
As punishment, the former tycoon will have to fly with his peers -- in first class.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-02-2009 @ 11:28PM
thedude said...
Give me a break. Access to the corporate jet or not, do you actually think he will backslide to commercial aviation ? I highly doubt it. I'm sure he has a Marquis card. Who doesn't when you reach that level of wealth ? The corporate jets are not always available, so you absolutely MUST have a Plan-B.