Grasso’s Sin of Success
September 18th, 2003
By Larry Kudlow
Abstract prepared by David DiPaola

	After working for the New York Stock Exchange for 35 years, CEO Dick Grasso took a single payment of $140 million for his work during his time there. Because of this, the media (identified to be "liberal-leaning journalists" and "Democratic state treasurers") put an enormous amount of pressure on him, effectively forcing him to resign. Some of the individuals who contributed to Grasso's vocational demise were floor brokers of the NYSE whom Grasso had saved during the late 1990s when big businesses were becoming increasingly tempted to switch their listings over to the Nasdaq. Despite preserving their livelihoods and not committing any major frauds such as skimming money from his company, engaging in fraudulent accounting practices, or participating in insider trading like many of his famously fraudulent contemporaries, Grasso still met a similar fate. What Grasso did make through his single payment was actually rather low compared to others yearly payments and stock options.