For those of us on the short end of the recent and ongoing mass looting of the economy by the kind of ant-populist robber barons who make Jesse and Frank James seem like do-gooders The Hardy Boys, there is now a historical record of the Fortune 500 CEO Hall of Shame in what could be printable trading cards outlining the shameful accomplishments of the Worst of the Worst.
Check out the card for Lehman Brothers’ Richard Fuld, whose stats list a total loss of $29 billion, while his personal take for the efforts comes in at a cool $71.9 million. Look at that punum… does he look suspiciously like a lizard? Then there’s Countrywide’s Angelo Mozilo, with a face only a mother (or a Sicilian Don) could love. Stats: in the loss column, a total of $22 billion. It’s the personal take that’s truly impressive – $225.7 million. This guy was good at being bad!
So if you’re overdue for an out-loud chuckle in the midst of economic meltdown designed to do the most amount of serious harm to the most number of honest, hard-working citizens, don’t miss this offering by BusinessPundit. It’s well worth the waste of card stock and color toner.
And while you’re busy surfing for news, giggles and brain-novocaine, go on over to CNNMoney to get the previews of the upcoming Super Bowl Ads, if for no other reason than to have them pre-listed and ready for votes at your Super Bowl Party this year. To be honest, that E*Trade talking baby gets me every time, even if it sometimes seems a little creepy what they make him say. Is this the CEO’s kid, or just some baby from central casting whose stage mom doesn’t mind his gratuitous sexualization?
Oh… and if you want a good conversation-starter for game night when both the game and the commercials get boring, check out GameJabs’ post about The 15 Most Controversial Superbowl Ads of All Time. Some of these aired and some of them didn’t, see how many of your football watching buddies remember the worst of ‘em.
Finally, if you’ve still got a job, at least one credit card, and are serious this time about getting your financial life in order, you may learn some useful strategies from Credit Card Matcher’s Plan for Paying Off Holiday Credit Card Debt. This site also offers reviews for the best card offerings for things like travel rewards and gas rewards to make traveling for fun and business a little cheaper.
Finally (last but certainly not least), if you or someone you know is planning to take the lemons of a tanking economy to make lemonade by starting a new business, you’ll definitely want to check out Brainz’s article offering 33 Ways to Fund Your Startup Business. Some of the traditional sources are drying up, but even as that’s happening some non-traditional, more creative methods of raising money are increasingly viable.
Links:
Fortune 500 CEO Hall of Shame
Super Bowl Ads: From Clydesdales to koalas
Travel Rewards Cards
Gas Rewards Cards
33 Ways to Fund Your Startup Business