Forbes By Jena McGregor and Diane Brady
From hubris and hate speech to bad judgement and even a pinch of bad luck, our annual list illustrates how even the mightiest can fall.
L to R: Frank founder Charlie Janice, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Scott Adams
JOHN MINCHILLO/AP; MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AP; LEA SUZUKI/THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/GETTY IMAGES
In a year marked by layoffs, economic uncertainty and investor impatience, many faced a reckoning after years of easy money. But some careers were curtailed for more personal reasons. From bank runs to stashed gold bullion to serial fabulism, the factors involved in some high-flying career downfalls seemed more extraordinary than usual this year.
This was, after all, the year when a cable TV host known for playing off white viewers’ fears finally went too far. A political figure who finally got a job he’d long coveted was ousted from it in historic fashion less than 10 months later. And a disastrous performance on Capitol Hill by the president of one of the nation’s top universities tipped the scales toward her resignation.
These and other once-mighty figures make up Forbes’ annual list of career crashes—individuals at or near the top of their fields whose professional descents shed light on some of the biggest issues of our time. Readers may notice that some familiar names are missing: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy charges last month, but appeared on our list last year after his company collapsed. Elon Musk’s 2023 was marked by one failure in leadership after another, from arbitrary staff cuts and allegedly refusing to honor bonus agreements at X (formerly Twitter) to an on-stage meltdown in which he told advertisers to “go f— yourself” after some had pulled back following his approval of an antisemitic tweet. (Musk has apologized for his show of support.) He, too, appeared on last year’s list.
This is no gallery of rogues. Some of the names below did cause their own downfall. Others stumbled for more ambiguous reasons: lackluster business performance, a lack of faith in their leadership or allegations that have yet to be proven. They may prove to be resilient and find success elsewhere, or even reclaim the throne they once occupied. Career resurrections are an art form—a common one—that Americans, in particular, often celebrate. After all, in failure there are lessons for success.
Here are our choices for this year’s most notable career crashes. Feel free to share your own picks in the comments.
Scott Adams, cartoonist and author
Scott Adams—cartoonist, author and creator of “Dilbert”—in a photo from 2014. (Photo By Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Adams tickled our funny bones in 1989 when he debuted a comic strip about office life called Dilbert. In 2023, Adams instead touched a nerve when he went on a racist rant about Black people being a hate group during a YouTube livestream. It wasn’t the first time Adams had promoted racist views—but it was the last straw for the 200+ newspapers that distributed his syndicated comic. (Dilbert ran in about 2,000 newspapers at its height.) Adams was also dropped by his publisher and lost other deals this year. With the launch of Dilbert Reborn on a subscription site, Adams continues to produce what’s become a bitter and unfunny comic. While Adams may have found comfort in catering to people who share his views, he’s lost income and a perch in the public spotlight. What a sad turn for a man who once made so many people laugh.
Greg Becker, former president and CEO, SVB Financial Group
Greg Becker, President and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference on May 3, 2022, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
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Becker stepped into the CEO role at Silicon Valley Bank in 2011 and rode a wave of breakneck growth as tech startups flourished. In 2015, he told the Senate Banking Committee that mid-sized banks like his did not present the same systemic risk as large banks and should be therefore exempt from what he considered to be onerous regulations. He was wrong. The bank—reliant on startup- and tech-focused customers who faced increasing investor wariness as the Federal Reserve suddenly raised interest rates—had bought up government bonds in an era of low rates, leaving it with sharp declines in the securities’ value and little in the way of interest-rate hedges, the Wall Street Journal has reported…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (forbes.com)
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