> "Religion is much more important to Americans than to people living in
> other wealthy nations. Six-in-ten (59%) people in the U.S. say
> religion plays a very important role in their lives."
Stretching the US wealth to religion ratio - religion is integral to some major corporate fraudsters. Actually, I can't think of a single CEO of a major Fortune 500 company that is considered an atheist.
Bernie Ebbers, ex-CEO of WorldCom, is a deacon and Sunday school teacher at a Baptist church in Brookhaven, Mississippi. He used to begin board meetings with a public prayer (?Dear Lord, thank you for the shareholders we are about to screw. Amen?). Stiles Kellett, Atlanta millionaire and former head of WorldCom's compensation committee (and recipient of $1 per year corporate jet usage) is an active church board member in Atlanta, a city where hundreds of laid off WorldCom employees remain unemployed.
Billionaire Phillip Anschutz, former chairman (but still board member as chairman of the Anschutz Corporation) of Qwest and take-out king of the 90s, regularly attends his Evangelical Presbyterian church in Denver.
Ken Lay was the son of a part time Baptist preacher. He's an active member of the First United Methodist church in Houston, where he was known 'for singing hymns in church' - and for the infamous quote 'I believe in God and I believe in free markets' that Doug's used to describe Lay in talks.
Gary Winnick, chairman of Global Crossing, still receives praise from the LA Jewish Weekly, not least because of the millions he and wife Karen have donated to Jewish causes - apparently of higher moral stature than his business practices. His $25mln pledge (tucked away in an escrow account) to his workers who lost jobs, severance and retirement money has yet to hit anyone's pockets or come close to making up for their losses.
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