Thursday 17 December 2009

Most Wanted: Can you recognise any of these Bad Boys of the Business World?


If, when Alexandra Burke sings, "Yeah, the bad boys are always catching my eye" then she's spoiled for choice in the naughty, mischievous and downright evil world of business. But in today's devilishly difficult challenge on HR Case Studies, can you match the name to the description?

Robert Maxwell
Martha Stewart
Conrad Black
Allen Stanford
Alan Bond
Michael Milken
Martin Frankel
Bernie Madoff
Ivan Boesky
Nick Leeson

1. Expelled from school in the 1950's for selling exam papers to fellow students. Siphoned millions from his newspaper business groups to fund his celebrity lifestyle in the various homes he acquired around the world. Convicted of fraud in December 2007. Currently in prison.
Who is this?

2. Coined the phrase "greed in good". Made his cash betting on corporate takeovers with a bit of luck and judgement, but a large amount of , er... insider dealing. Fined $100m, grassed up his mates, but still ended up in the nick.
Who is this?

3. Became Australia's biggest corporate criminal after being convicted in 1997 for his part in defrauding a company of more than a thousand million dollars, and transferring the money into family business interests.
Who is this?


4. American Money manager, arrested in Germany in 1999 after international manhunt. Reportedly in possession of nine fake passports, 547 diamonds, an astrological chart drawn up to answer the question "Will I go to prison?" and a to-do list that included "launder money". Sentenced to 17 years in clink in 2004.
Who is this?

5. Single-handedly brought down Barings Bank back in 1995. Lost $1.4 billion in unauthorized trading and rendered Britain's oldest bank insolvent. It was eventually sold for one pound to ING, a Dutch Bank. Now lives in Ireland with his family and is CEO of Irish football club Galway United. Available for speaking engagements.
Who is this?

6. Appropriately named conman curently serving a prison sentence of 150 years for masterminding a massive fraud that robbed investors of $65bn (£40bn).
Who is this?

7. Born Jan Ludwik Hoch in Czechoslovakia in 1923. Fled the Nazis in 1939 and fought with the Brits during the second world war, calling himself du Maurier, after a brand of classy cigarettes. Body found floating near his luxury yacht in 1991. Buried on Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. Oh, and he pinched £400m from Mirror Group's pension fund to prop up his other business interests. Did he jump, or was he pushed?
Who is this?

8. Junk bond king of Wall Street. Set up a web of deceitful transactions that eventually led to the disgrace of junk-bond financing and forced his company out of business. Faced 98 charges of racketeering, insider trading and securities fraud and, after plea-bargaining, pleaded guilty to six. He was jailed for 22 months in 1990.
Who is this?

9. Domestic diva who dumped her shares of a company the day before bad news caused the stock to nosedive. Found guilty of insider trading, spent five months at "Camp Cupcake" and another five on house arrest.
Who is this?
 
10. Aged 58, six kids, Net worth: £2.2bn, 205th on America's rich list. In June, he turned himself in to the Virginia office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to answer a criminal fraud indictment. Likes cricket.
Who is this?

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