Not Just Wall Street

Local Exec Cashes In While Company Crashes

If you're disgusted by financial executives hauling in tens of millions while their companies crash and burn, it might be consoling to think the phenomenon is limited to Wall Street.

Unfortunately, it's not.

As the Star Trib reported yesterday, the former CEO of MoneyGram, Philip Milne, received a $13.1 million severance package. The company's headquarters are just off 394 and 169, in St. Louis Park.

So how did the shareholders do? Their stock is trading at a little over $1 a share, down 96% the last year.

Incredibly, the entire company is only valued at about $90 million.

An old Wall Street joke asks, "how do you make $1 million on Wall Street? Start with $10 million."

In Mr. Milne's case, the equivalent would be, "how do you create a company worth $90 million? Start with a company worth $2 billion."