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Bernie Ebbers

Chief Executive Officer, WorldCom

Once the unsuccessful owner of a chain of 'no-tell' motels, Ebbers went on to head WorldCom and become one of the most dynamic and talked about (and hated) telecom execs in the world, basing his entire business strategy on acquisition. Bernie, as he is called by those who hate him, bought up James Crowe's MFS Communications, but although Bill Gates had insisted Crowe stay on board, Crowe himself chose to leave only weeks later. Bernie also bought up MCI, but here had to let the data networks go to Cable & Wireless - the US government didn't like Bernie's monopolistic leanings. Bernie also bought up UUNet (Unix to Unix Network), the world's first commercial Internet service provider founded by Rick Adams. And he also somehow managed to get Vint 'I-did-it-all-myself' Cerf on board.

But things started to go bad for Bernie when his attempt to take over Sprint Communications met with both US federal and European disapproval, and since the summer of 1999 his stock has been in a steady decline, from a high back then of over $60 to a low three years later of $0.08. A common misconception is that WorldCom's disclosure of illicit accounting practices to hide a $3.8 billion deficit was behind its crash - but WorldCom stock had already plummeted to $1 by the time the disclosure was made.

In the wake of yet another scandal, which, if WorldCom file for bankruptcy, could outshadow even Enron, the heretofore biggest bankruptcy in world history, Bernie has saw fit to sell his luxury yacht Aquasition [sic]. Along with his CFO he is now under investigation by both the SEC and the FBI. And he too profited by having a cheerleader or two in his pocket on the Street - Jack Grubman.

Ebbers Allegation Was Kept Quiet (Washington Post)
WorldCom executives have been aware for weeks that former chief executive Bernard J. Ebbers may have known about the company's accounting irregularities but have resisted making public what they regard as unsubstantiated details, according to a source close to the company. More...

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