Hi All,
Just saw this story. Evidently failing corporate giant Citigroup is buying its executives a brand new luxury jet – for a cool $50 million dollars. Their new “Limo of the Sky” Dassault Falcon 7X will be retrofitted with a luxury entertainment center, private bathrooms and kitchens and seats 12 in maximum comfort. When asked by the Post if such a purchase was appropriate under current economic circumstances head of CitiFlight Bill McNamee responded:
“Why should I help you when what you write will be used the detriment of our company?”
For those of you who don’t understand corporate speak, this means “F**k Off”. (1)
By the way, Citi group is trading at less than $4 dollars a share, down from their high of $54 dollars a year and a half ago – a decline of over 90%. I’ve lost $1,500 on my investment in this company and Miel is in the red to the tune of over $400. In the meantime, Citigroup has taken over $45 billion dollars of taxpayer funds to keep their company afloat (1).
To have Citigroup fail is one thing – that’s the risk that shareholders take. However, to be obligated to pay for the mistakes of corporate managers with taxpayer dollars is quite another. Finally, to have Citigroups management arrogantly dismiss members of the press for asking relevant questions seems to suggest a resistance to transparency. Unfortunately, the entire picture appears to add up to a lack of accountability on the part of the banks senior staff.
Update: Citigroup scrapped the sale after they got a call from the White House (1).
Best,
James
No Comments yet!