My tailor is rich... but not as rich as the man who put Lehman Brothers out of business

Today's article draws its inspiration from the news coming from the US this week with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the privatization of AIG and the $150 billion economic stimulus plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to reduce the slowing down of US economy.

This proposition means that American taxpayers will have to pay for the errors of judgement of those top executives that earned billions of dollars in 2005-2006, when the economy was flourishing and their venerable institutions granted a mortgage to families that clearly couldn't afford it... Now is time to pay, but all these very important people lose is their position as CEOs, but they still possess stock options that will ensure them significant incomes when the stock exchange bounces back (it always does).

 
So, the idioms of the week are dedicated to our fellow taxpayers from over the sea (but they also apply to us in many circumstances) :

 
"They are being made a fool of." (ils sont les dindons de la farce)

"They are getting screwed." or "They are getting ripped off." (ils se font entuber, pour rester polie)

  
Just for "fun", here are some figures I've read in today's Irish Post. These people all encouraged the system "the more you sell (to whoever you want even if they can't pay), the more bonus you get" which eventually led to the disaster. 

Dick Fuld, chief executive, Lehman Brothers
Reported to have earned $500 million at Lehman. Received remuneration of $40 million in 2006 and ten-year stock options worth $186 million. In 2007, he received $39 million. The bank collapsed into bankruptcy a little over a year later, having lost over $10 billion on mortgage products.

Martin Sullivan, former chief executive, AIG
Sullivan was ousted earlier this year, having received over $40 million in 2005 and 2006. His severance package was $47 million. AIG lost over $20 billion on sub-prime writedowns.

Stan O’Neal, former chief executive of Merrill Lynch
O’Neal took over in 2002 and earned $36 million in 2005 and $47 million in 2006. He walked away in October 2007 with $161 million after being sacked. Merrill announced $14 billion in mortgage writedowns just months later.

Charles Prince, former chief executive, Citigroup
Resigned in November 2007 with an exit package worth $68 million. He had received remuneration totalling $53 million in the previous four years. Citigroup lost $10 billion on mortgage-backed securities. His predecessor, Sanford Weill, left the bank with $874 million in shares and share options.

James Cayne, former chief executive, Bear Stearns
He received remuneration of $23.2 million in 2005 and a further $33.6 million in 2006. His basic salary was $250,000. Bear Stearns collapsed having lost over $3 billion on sub-prime products.

Marcel Ospel, former chairman, UBS
Resigned last year after UBS racked up $10 billion in losses. In 2006, he was paid $20 million.