Today’s titans of capitalism often ache with the flaw, their shining headquarters being flophouses of status drunkenness. The condition of terrible, gibbering conceit that’s befallen some of our leaders of industry and finance was exposed following the global financial crisis. When the CEOs of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors travelled to Washington on a begging mission for public money, they did so in private jets. Over in the UK a household name was made of Fred Goodwin, the CEO who walked the Royal Bank of Scotland into debts of over £24 billion and a taxpayer bailout of £45 billion.
