After proving you can be too rich and too thin by losing the New Jersey gubernatorial race to fat Republican Chris Christie, former Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine has gone back to his original pastime: making oodles of money.
Well, maybe not oodles in the beginning. Corzine is taking over as head of MF Global Holdings, a clearinghouse for derivatives and foreign exchange products. The brokerage, which lost much of its value in the recession, was formerly run by Bernard Dan, who is resigning for personal reasons, one of which appears to be that he sucked. (“No one is happy with the earnings profile,” Corzine said on the conference call announcing the change today, according to Bloomberg.) Nonetheless, the opportunity is there to turn the business around, especially since such clearinghouses may turn out to be an important part of derivatives reform, and the company has recently been given a hot $300 million cash injection by the fearsomely successful JC Flowers and Associates. And if all else fails, well, the Corz will still likely take home a tidy package.
Dan was paid more than $3 million in salary and compensation last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Alison J. Carnwath, 57, whom Corzine will also replace as chairman, earned $1.8 million. Jeremy Skule, a spokesman for MF Global, said Corzine’s compensation is still being set.
All that, plus the chance to never kiss up to community groups ever again? It’s a wonder he ever went into public service in the first place.
Corzine Returns to Wall Street as CEO of MF Global Holdings [Bloomberg]
