November 20, 2006

Everyone out there with real jobs can now puke: Corrupt and disgraced KB Homes crook to get $175,000,000 windfall


Sickening, I tell ya. Just sickening.

$175 Million by the way would buy 875 homes at $200k

Report Says Ex-CEO Karatz Could Get $175M Despite Leaving KB Home Amid Scandal

Bruce Karatz, who stepped down last week as chief executive of KB Home, could get as much as $175 million in severance pay, pension benefits and stock options despite leaving the homebuilder amid a stock option controversy, according to a published report.

The multimillion dollar windfall, experts say, may be possible in part because Karatz wasn't fired. The 61-year-old agreed to retire Nov. 12 and repay KB Home $13 million after an internal report concluded the home construction company incorrectly reported stock option grants.

12 comments:

Stuck In So Pa said...

Doesn't the I.R.S. get mixed up in this somehow? Even though it’s not legally his money, and he had to give it back, and he doesn't owe taxes on money he didn't get, doesn't that throw up a red flag on a computer somewhere? This con artist cooked the books here, what else is being charbroiled extra crispy in his portfolio?

Ouch said...

People need to punish this
type of corporate operation.

'Karatz was one of the highest-paid executives in 2005, making $155.9 million, mostly from exercising options.'

'The LAT reveals on Page 1 that even though KB Home Chief Executive Bruce Karatz was forced to leave the company as a result of a stock-option controversy, he still stands to get as much as $175 million in severance pay.'

'Last year, KB built more than 37,000 homes in the United States and France and posted nearly $10 billion in sales. It has 6,700 employees.'
SO 155 million + 175 million - 13 million = 317 million.

317 million / 6700 employees =

$47,313 per employee.

I bet they probably didn't even get a cost of living adjustment equal to 1/33 of that (~$1433 or 3.5% of a 40k salary).

Benvolio Montague said...

I'm thinking there is an expanding niche market for somebody with the skills of Robespierre. Send all CV's to Keith. We'll keep them on file until the revolution comes.

Brandon said...

But that's the way it seems to work in corporate America. If you leave during a scandal, you walk away rich. If you leave after the scandal, you walk away as a scapegoat ... maybe to join an Enron poker game in Cell Block D.

Happy Holidays!
-The Real Estate Marketing Guy

foxwoodlief said...

This also exemplifies the scam that pure capitalists force on the rest of us.

Raise the minimum wage, inflationary. Give executives a $150,000,000 salary and that isn't. High wages are the reward and incentive for "talent" but raising the minimum wage...well, who is going to cut my lawn so I can buy my yacht.

The trickle down theory is a farce. The amount of money in the hands of the worlds top 10% is disgusting. I'm sorry but no one deserves that kind of money even if he built a large company since no industry is built on the labor of one man.

Most CEOs think they are so talented and that they are responsible for creating wealth but most organizations can survive quite well without them. I've never seen one that really made a "positive" difference. Where I use to work we went through CEOs like water and none were worth their compensation and the organization could function just as well without them.

Disgrace? Crooked? I hope they remember the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, and any other revolution that rebels against such excess.

Anonymous said...

Hey Kieth,you been saying alotta messed up stuff about us,and we don't think it's cool.We been derided,compared to hucksters,shuck-n-jive mofo's-trolls,Dick Cheney,BOOSH,and on ,and on.We is tired of your brand of slop, you Martian.So if you knows whuts good for ya then you better find someone else to use as your donkey.Get it? Good.


Signed THE PIGS.

Anonymous said...

Tell that to dumb people who buy KBH stocks.

Anonymous said...

Karatz has taken his medicine, paid back what he owes ($13 mil is not chump change) and moved on. That should be the end of it. If anything, we should be thanking him for making the dream of home ownership available to millions of working families.

Anonymous said...

You've got to be F'ing kidding.

Anonymous said...

Or it could have paid for these 6700 employees (notice that Alcoa had record EARNINGs ):

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Alcoa Inc. plans to cut 6,700 jobs worldwide over the next year as part of a plan to boost profits, the aluminum maker said Tuesday.

The job cuts represent about 5 percent of the work force for Alcoa, which has 129,000 employees in 44 countries.

The plant closings and consolidations are expected to save Alcoa approximately $125 million annually before taxes, according to the company.

"Through the first three quarters of 2006, we have generated more earnings than in any full year in our company's history, and in order to continue to move forward, we now need to take the difficult but necessary restructuring steps that will continue to maximize profitability across the company," Alcoa Chairman and CEO Alain Belda said in a statement

Anonymous said...

Normally I would say, You reap what you "sow". In this case the pig may walk away with the bacon.
Is this the American way?
Go to www.hobb.org and see all the sites from homeowner's, articles on KB. Nothing else needs to be said as far as I am concerned.

Anonymous said...

KB Home has the worst track record for shoddy construction, breach of warranty, violation of federal laws, etc. They are one of the few publicly traded builders ever investigated and fined millions by the federal government. What Karatz did is the tip of the iceberg, not only with KB Home, but probably the entire home building industry. No matter how bad some of these builders are, or how many people whose lives and finances they've left in shambles, many times the industry gives the builder awards. Also, arbitration clauses in most builders contracts now, hide complaints. Home buyers doing research are thus hampered when trying to make a good choice. Anyone who feels this builder is a good one needs to get out there and do some real research. Thank God for the internet or we would not be able to find out much of anything about these builders. Maybe that's why they want the free speech shut down!