Sometimes, wealth, power, and influence go hand in hand with misdeeds, misdemeanors, and corruption. Today, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 5 scandals involving billionaires in 2013. Read below to find out more about the people who made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
No. 5: Dennis Wilson and the “Open mouth. Insert foot” incident
Do you know why politicians, celebrities, and other people who live in the spotlight often have spokespersons or speech writers? Well, mainly because a few poorly chosen words can damage your image in just a few seconds. And no one knows this better than Dennis Wilson, former chairman at Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU), a Canadian clothing company. After Lululemon had to recall its yoga gear line, due to material faults, Wilson went on national TV and tried to explain the incident. But instead of saying that the company had made a mistake by manufacturing clothes that were too thin, Wilson decided to accuse the women that bought them, by saying that they simply did not have a body made for yoga pants. Despite his subsequent attempts to correct his major faux pas, Wilson ultimately had to resign.
No. 4: Stewie Rahr and the home video
There’s no mystery that pharmaceutical billionaire Stewie Rahr likes to party hard. But what infuriated and outraged people in 2013 is his utter lack of privacy and decency. While vacationing in Southern France, Rahr filmed three women acting lasciviously and performing sexual acts on the backseat of a limousine. But instead of keeping the video for himself, Rahr sent it around for the entire world to see. When questioned about it, he explained that he doesn’t see any issues with this, as he was single at the time and just having fun during a holiday.
No. 3: Jacqueline Mars and reckless driving
They say that some people can get away with anything, and Jacqueline Mars is the perfect example. In October 2013, Mars slammed her car into another vehicle, killing one passenger as well as the unborn baby of another. She was only charged with reckless driving, to which she pleaded guilty. Since reckless driving is only a misdemeanor in the US, there was no jail time involved and Mars only had to pay a fine of a little over $2,000, which can hardly put a dent in her fortune, as she’s reported to have a net worth of over $20 billion.
No. 2: Serge Dassault and political intrigues
Like most billionaires on our countdown, French billionaire Serge Dassault was also involved in a scandal that had nothing to do with his businesses. The owner of Dassault Systems and Dassault Aviations was involved in a political intrigue, surrounding the elections in a small French town by the name of Corbeil Essonnes. According to Mediapart, who leaked several recordings, Dassault wanted to ensure that his favorite would win the elections and to do this, he bribed several voters. But 2013 is not the first time Dassault makes the headlines. In 1999, after the media revealed he had given money and gifts to his voters, the billionaire was forced to resign from his position as mayor.
No. 1: Steven A. Cohen and SAC Capital Advisors
Probably the most talked about scandal of 2013 was that involving Steven A. Cohen and his hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors. When hedge fund managers had to step forward and plead guilty to a series of trading violations, SAC was forced to terminate all agreements with investors. In addition, the fines amounted to a reported $1.2 billion, according to Forbes Magazine. Steven Cohen, went from being the head of arguably the biggest hedge fund in the US to working in a family office.
