Stanley O'Neal
The 21-year Merrill Lynch veteran was asked to resign as chairman and CEO in 2007, just as the subprime mortgage crisis was heating up and the investment bank had taken heavy losses as a result. His severance package totaled $161.5 million. Merrill Lynch would be bought out by Bank of America in late 2008, as it teetered on the brink of subprime-fueled collapse.
