Fired Merrill Lynch CEO: I Should Have Gone to Ikea
Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain was fired from his job after the company was bought by Bank of America. One of the criticisms against Thain was that he spent too much money redecorating his office ($1.2 million to be exact) at a time when the bank was getting TARP money from the government. In a speech to Wharton Business School, Thain joked that he "should have gone to Ikea" instead.
"We decorated it in the style that Merrill Lynch offices were, which was very, very nice," Thain said yesterday during a speech in Philadelphia. "That was a mistake, and I'm sorry that I did that. If I had that to do over again, I'd furnish it in Ikea." His remark was met with laughter and applause at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School.
Thain, 54, said he reimbursed the company for $1.2 million spent to redecorate an office, two conference rooms and a reception area. He was dismissed from Bank of America Corp., which bought Merrill Lynch on Jan. 1 for $29 billion, after the renovations came to light. The furniture included a $35,000 commode -- "not a toilet, it's a chest of drawers," Thain told the crowd -- and a $25,000 antique mahogany pedestal table.
"John, stop by Ikea anytime," said Mona Astra Liss, a spokeswoman for the retailer, known for assemble-it-yourself furniture and in-store restaurants. She offered to show "a wealth of furniture choices" for home and office, “and feed you Swedish meatballs, too." Ikea, founded in Sweden and registered in Leiden in the Netherlands, sells a 3-drawer chest for $49.99.
Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis canned Thain after it was revealed that Merrill employees got huge bonuses when the company posted a $15.3 billion loss.
So if he paid Merrill $1.2 million for the renovations, including office furniture, did he get to keep the commode? Or did Merrill Lynch auction it off?
