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Richard Kinder – Morningstar’s CEO of the Year is a Dollar Richer
Morningstar’s CEO of the year Richard Kinder pipes plenty of value to shareholders. Kinder left Enron in 1996 after he and CEO Ken Lay disagreed over–among other things–whether the future of Enron lay in energy trading or in pipelines. Since then, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners has returned just under 30% annually to shareholders, and the firm has grown to become one of the largest pipeline operators in the country. Kinder himself has never received any options or restricted stock, his sizable interest in the company comes from his initial investment and additional shares purchased on the open market–and he receives $1 in salary. Morningstar has the full story.
Richard Branson Leaps Into Comics and Animation
British Billionaire Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Books have teamed with Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Gotham Entertainment Group to launch Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, or so Variety reports.
Refco Wants to Pay New CEO Harrison Goldin $685 an Hour
CNN Money reports Refco, which owes creditors $16.8B, has asked a US Bankruptcy court judge to pay its new CEO Harrison Goldin $685 an hour. Goldin runs turnaround consulting firm Goldin Associates LLC.
Bruce Wasserstein Says Changes at Time Warner are Inevitable
“It is inevitable there will be material changes in the structure of Time Warner,” Wasserstein told Charlie Rose in a rare interview yesterday, or so Reuters reports.
John Aldeborgh Will Ride Out In Style
The severance package of Varian Semiconductor’s VP of Sales and Marketing, John Aldeborgh includes the keys to a Porsche Cayane reports Footnoted.org. CompanyPay.com offers a glimpse into the details of Aldeborgh’s total compensation package.
The New Big Swinging Ride
Business Week runs a story on The Becker Jet Van, the latest in Big Swinging transport. The Jet Van has the amenities of a private jet and all the tools of an airborne office, including satellite phones, a docking station for a laptop, and a high-speed Internet connection. It’s the brainchild of Howard Becker, a veteran of the custom car business and owner of Becker Automotive Design Inc. in Oxnard, Calif.
Bass’ Bail Out NY Metropolitan Opera
Oil tycoon Sid Bass and his wife Mercedes are bailing out the NY Metropolitan Opera with a $25 million dollar donation according to Forbes. Apparently the opera ran into problems when benefactor and aspiring opera singer Alberto Vilar ran into some problems with the law.
Christopher Cox Rocks
Or so says a story on Fortune that focuses on early reviews of Cox’s performance as Commissioner of the SEC.
Young Andy Hornby Takes the Reigns at HBOS
At 38, Andy Hornby is one of the youngest executives to run a FTSE 100 company. Get the story from The Guardian.
Steve Jobs; Caveman Lawyer
Alarm:Clock’s report on Apple Computer’s filing of a trademark infringement claim against Germany based Liquid Air Lab, the company behind Spodradio.
Jonathan Schwartz Says Blogging Helped Revitalize Sun’s Reputation
Micro Persuasion points us to this story. Sally Falkow, writing for communications firm Bacon’s reports that Jonathan Schwartz, President and COO of Sun Microsystems says blogging has played a major role in the revitalization of Sun’s reputation. Sally’s article can be found here, while Jonathan Schwartz’s blog can be found here.
Former IBM Chief Frank Cary Dead at 85
The New York Times covers the passing of the former IBM Chief.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin Pulling Down $43 Million a Week
The New York Post points out that Google founders, Page and Brin would pocket annualized pay of around $2 billion each, based on their current rate of Google stock sales during December.
Kerry Skeen Has No Regrets
Although Independence Air will cease operations tonight, CEO Kerry Skeen says he has no regrets. Forbes reports that although the budget airline will fold Skeen is said to have amassed $3.4 million in deferred comp.
Richard Scrushy is Ordered to Cough Up $47.8 Million
The LA Times reports that despite being aquitted of fraud charges the former Health South CEO must give back $47.8 million in bonuses and interest he received from 1997 to 2002, when his company lost money. Scrushy plans to appeal.
Lee Kun-hee’s Puppy Love
Samsung isn’t going to the dogs but the company has a particular affection for animals, thanks to Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Samsung Group sponsors the “corporate contributions program starting with animal welfare” which dates back to 1993 when it started raising guide dogs for the blind. In recent years, Samsung has increasingly promoted animal welfare with a particular focus on dogs and horses. The Korea Herald has the story.
Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling Want Trial Out of Houston
The Washington Post reports that in the latest attempt to get the trial moved out of Houston, lawyers for Lay and Skilling have cited the recent publicity associated with former Enron Accounting Chief’s Richard Causey’s plea. Experts think it’s a longshot. In addition, defense lawyers have asked for a “cooling off” period” which would delay the trial a month from its scheduled January 30th date. The latest from Lay himself, can be found on his website. The story from The Post can be accessed here.
George Roberts; Private Equity is all Good
George Roberts, the “R” in private equity giant KKR tells The FT that big leveraged buy-outs won’t trigger bankruptcies or damage industry returns as some fear. Roberts also predicts the market for big private equity deals will remain “vibrant” for 2006. Get the full story for The FT here.
A Big Swinging Lineup at the Consumer Electronics Show
Bill Gates is the “preshow” keynote speaker today. Also on the show’s speaker list: Michael Dell, Howard Stringer, Terry Semel and Larry Page. Click here for the show’s special events schedule.
Dennis FitzSimons is Under Pressure
Most Chiefs in the newspaper business are under great pressure these days. Declining ad and circulation numbers along with activist investors pretty much top the list of woes. The Chicago Sun Times chronicles Dennis FitzSimons‘ challenges as Chairman of the Tribune Company.
Media Power Couple, Peter Kahn and Karen House to Exit Dow Jones
The New York Times reports that the one time Pulitzer Prize winning couple will leave their posts at Dow Jones. Kahn will relinquish the CEO title and keep the Chairman’s title until April of 2007. Once the board decided that COO, Rich Zannino would replace Kahn The Times reports it was clear to both Zannino and House that House could not stay. Zannino will be the first nonjournalist to lead Dow Jones in modern times. To access the full story click here.
Dick Parsons Assists Man on the Street
Page Six reports on Time Warner Chief Dick Parsons assisting a man on the street; hedge fund manager Jeff Green. Apparently Green was on a mobile phone trying to sort through a problem with a Time Warner Cable phone representative when he spotted Parsons on 7th Avenue. Green approached Parsons who patiently listened to his plight. When Green relayed to the phone rep that Parsons was with him and was sympathetic to his plight, Green got his problem solved.
Bill Gates Barbarian to Bill Gates Benefactor
Writing for New York Magazine, John Heilemann says like most robber barons Bill Gates is more concerned these days with saving the world rather than overtaking it. Once upon a time in the business world Microsoft and Gates were to be feared; now they are increasingly ordinary, even irrelevant. You can read the full story by clicking here.
BIG SWINGING Blogger.com Archives
BIG SWINGING began publisihing in August of 2005.
What’s left of BIG SWINGING‘s Blogger.com archives can be found here.
Bob Nardelli is Home Depot’s Big Brother
From his desk at HQ, Home Depot Chief Bob Nardelli can peer into any one of his 1,962 Home Depot stores to get a first hand look at what’s really going on. Fast Company reports HD’s closed circut system is simply known as “HDTV”.
Paul Roth, the “Marty Lipton” of the Hedge Fund Business
Today’s Wall Street Journal runs a story on law firm Schulte Roth and Zabel. The firm has grown along with the hedge fund industry into American Lawyer Magazine’s 11th ranked firm in profit per partner out of the U.S.’s 100 top grossing law firms. Name partner Paul Roth is now being referred to as the “Marty Lipton of the hedge fund industry. A subscription to The Journal is required to access the full story.
Lord Curmudgeonly Offers Advice to CEO’s
In a satirical piece, The New York Post‘s Chris Byron offers CEO’s advice on how to counter the growing support for companies to disclose the complete contents of employment contracts.
