10 CEOs Who Destroyed Their Own Companies -- YouTube

WatchMojo.com 25.9M subscribers ^ | Oct 2025 | WatchMojo.com 25.9M subscribers

[dennisw]

240,241 views

Oct 18, 2025

#WeWork #Scandal #CEO

From fraudulent blood testing to diesel emissions cheating, these business leaders drove their empires straight into the ground! Join us as we examine the executives whose poor decisions, ethical lapses, and outright fraud transformed thriving companies into cautionary tales. Which corporate collapse shocked you the most?

Our countdown includes Elizabeth Holmes' non-existent blood testing technology at Theranos, Adam Neumann's lavish spending at WeWork, Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay's accounting fraud at Enron, Martin Winterkorn's emissions scandal at Volkswagen, and John Sculley's disastrous tenure after ousting Steve Jobs from Apple.

Did we miss any other corporate captains who sank their own ships? Let us know in the comments below!

[Ezekiel]

Did we miss any other corporate captains who sank their own ships?

Stockton Rush

[Hammerhead]

Textronis, IBM

[NorthMountain]

THAT’S what I’m talking about. Ross Perot understood “THIS Company”.

[Organic Panic]

BUY BEAR STEARNS!

If I get to do it all over again I am going in to politics as a fake liberal and starting a “green” company. I worked my arse off 60 hours a week (on an easy week) only to have had the government shut me down several times. Next time, I’m going the Solyndra route of collecting welfare. Work is for chumps.

[dennisw]

"It was Spindler who licensed the OS to 3rd parties (though he also helped with a fairly smooth transition to PowerPC)."

UMAX! I went into Best Buy and saw UMAX with the Apple OS. These UMAX looked heavy and (real) bullets proof. iirc They had a steel carry handle up on top.

[scrabblehack]

Theranos — they were never sound to begin with, or were they?
I’m not sure about Enron either.

[bobcat62]

I thought they were stored at Powermill Road?
- ex MR3/MR4

[bobcat62]

The bridge was back during Microsoft’s anti-trust prosecution with Judge Jackson. A bridge loan, that allowed Microsoft to point out they had competion, was money well spent.

[BipolarBob]

Gillette is still viable but they aren’t getting my toxic masculine dollars.

[dennisw]

“The bridge was back during Microsoft’s anti-trust prosecution with Judge Jackson. A bridge loan, that allowed Microsoft to point out they had competion, was money well spent.”

I looked at all the dates and you are right. Gates loaning Apple 150 millions, was designed to weaken the USG anti-trust case against Microsoft. In fact maybe Bill called Steve to propose the 150 millions loan. That benefitted both parties.

[subterfuge]

Enron started the whole global warming scam.

[Fledermaus]

Usually sales.

[subterfuge]

And no, Theranos was never a viable company. Complete fakery.

[bobcat62]

The bridge loan ended existing litigation between Microsoft & Apple.

YouTube has the Macworld Boston presentation with Bill Gates on the projection screen co-announcing the deal. You might want to look at it.

A monument to Judge Jackson should be erected in Redmond, next to Microsoft HQ.

[bobcat62]

There’s also Ken’s “Snake Oil” comment from back in the day.

[packrat35]

Didn’t Carly take down Bell Labs before that?

[dennisw]

And here I thought Gates made the Apple bridge loan out of the goodness of his own heart. That he wanted a valid competitor (no sarcasm)

[Yossarian]

Their list from the video:

10. Carly Fiorina (spit), Hewlett-Packard.

---

- Mentions disastrous merger with Compaq, 30K workers laid off, stock value halted. Notes the stock price went up 7% upon her firing.
- Video doesn't note Fiorina went on to be a GOP fraud. She said in 2019 that “I think it is vital that (Trump) be impeached,” Fiorina said (to CNN). But whether Trump should be removed from office, Fiorina said, “this close to an election, I don’t know.”

9. Fred Goodwin, Royal Bank of Scotland

---

- "Fred the Shred";
- bloated Royal Bank of Scotland right before 2008 financial crisis;
- RBS required a public bailout;
- tried to hold on to 8 million pounds of pension;

8. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo

---

- purchased Tumbler for $1.1 billion, led to nothing;
- sank its advertising unit;
- Sold core internet assets to Verizon for just $5 Billion;

7. Eddie Lampert, Sears

---

- Treated Sears like an asset collection to be sold off;
- failed to invest in updating stores;
- missed out on eCommerce trend;
- (me, not the video) forced Sears to do deals that benefitted Lampert personally;

6. Bernard Ebers, WorldCom

---

- Rapid growth thru acquisitions in the 90s;
- Tech Bubble Burst in early 2000 damaged company, but decided to hide $11B of losses thru deception;
- Went to jail for ~13 years, died soon after;

5. John Sculley, Apple

---

- Fired Steve Jobs (but Jobs was an uncontrollable a-hole);
- Apple product line got bloated, confusing and expensive;
- Lost market dominance to Microsoft;

4. Martin Winterkorn, PhD, Volkswagen

---

- Chairman during the VW Diesel emissions cheating scandal;
- Maybe he didn't do the deception, but created a corporate culture that wasn't good;
- Trust in VW plummeted and never really recovered;

3. Adam Neuman, WeWork

---

- Charismatic and chaotic pot-head and boozer;
- Cultish organization that blew thru tons of money;
- Business model made no sense, IPO attempt exposed it all;

2. Jeffery Skilling, Enron

---

- 10 years in prison for accounting fraud;
- Did it with Founder and Chairman Kenneth Lay,
- Erased billions in shareholder value when fraud was exposed;

1. Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos

---

- Fraudulently claimed to have technology to do multiple blood tests at once;
- Lab results were not accurate;
- Convicted for criminal fraud, incarcerated at a "Club Fed" prison;

[faithhopecharity]

casting a vote for him

Smiles

[dennisw]

Eddie Lampert, Sears

- Treated Sears like an asset collection to be sold off;
- failed to invest in updating stores;
- missed out on eCommerce trend;
- (me, not the video) forced Sears to do deals that benefitted Lampert personally
_______________________

From the beginning his intention was to make the schemes most money by selling Sears n KMart stores to property developers. Who would raze the store to build something more lucrative. Condos, offices whatever.

Looks like fast Eddie failed on this front.