CEOs Gone Wild

Patrick Byrne, Overstock

Gripped by paranoia, Byrne has asserted that a cabal controlled by a “Sith Lord” is actively working to destroy his company. Seriously. But why would the Sith be interested in obliterating Overstock.com? The Sith are an ancient order of practitioners of the dark side of the Force determined to destroy Jedi Knights, not online retailers like Overstock.com.

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Michael Jeffries,
Abercrombie & Fitch

Jeffries, now 63, is Abercrombie’s resident impresario and CEO -- and he’s made a career of looking like the brawny Aryan specimens who constitute A&F's core demographic. When asked why he dyes his hair such a distinctly unnatural shade of platinum, Jeffries replied, "Dude, [because] I'm not an old fart who wears his jeans up at his shoulders."

Larry Ellison, Oracle

There’s an old joke in Silicon Valley about Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison: Q: What’s the difference between God and Larry Ellison? A: God doesn’t think he’s Larry Ellison. God complex or no god complex, all that wealth and power can foster resentment. Which is why Oracle preemptively bought the domain names larryellisonsux.com, larryellisonblows.com, ihatelarryellison.com and others.

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Bob Parsons, GoDaddy.com

GoDaddy's now-infamous, insanely gratuitous 2005 Super Bowl commercial was pulled by Fox after its initial airing. But CEO Bob Parsons was only emboldened by the network's action, repeat offending in 2008 with a spot that instructed viewers to visit the GoDaddy website to see for themselves an even racier commercial, called "Exposure," that Fox had outright refused to air that year. Apparently, animatronic beavers are suggestive, in a double-entendre sort of way.
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Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA

In 1976, Kamprad authored 'A Furniture Dealer's Testament.' In it, he declares "wasting resources" to be "a mortal sin." IKEA aims to cut costs by about 3% a year and Kamprad himself is so devoted to the cause that he drives a 15-year-old Volvo which he occasionally sleeps in on business trips. By the way, a conservative estimate of his net worth is $40 billion, making him the 7th richest man in the world.

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John Mackey, Whole Foods

Over the course of 8 years, Whole Food's John Mackey made over 1,400 Internet postings using the pseudonym "Rahodeb" -- an anagram of Deborah, his wife. Many took the form of lewd and lascivious fondling of Mackey's own ego -- as in, "I like Mackey's haircut. I think he looks cute!" and "While I'm not a 'Mackey groupie' I do admire what the man has accomplished."

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Chris Albrecht,
HBO's Former CEO

In May, 2007, after the Oscar De La Hoya/Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight that had ended a few hours earlier, Chris Albrecht, then the 54-year-old CEO and chairman of HBO, was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend, Karla Jensen, in the parking lot of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Local police described the assault as one involving "hitting, choking and shoving."

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Ron Perelman, Revlon

Ron Perelman sure loves the ladies, but this serial monogamist's penchant for the fairer sex ain't cheap. Here are the stats: marriage to heiress Faith Golden lasted 17 years and cost a cool $8 million; wedded bliss with gossip columnist Claudia Cohen fizzled after 9 years and came with an $80 million price tag; and making an honest woman out of actress Ellen Barkin, a similarly ill-fated venture, emptied his wallet to the tune of $40 million.

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Next: Bob Guccione Jr.

Bob Guccione Jr., Publisher

After selling 'Spin' magazine in 1997 for $40 million, Guccione Jr. launched his next venture, 'Gear,' in 1998. A men's glossy that attempted to cash in on the lad-mag craze, 'Gear' was described by Guccione as "the most sophisticated of them all." Articles about such topics as the social and technological implications of a suit that electrically stimulated the wearer's genitals more than bore out this claim.

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Luther Campbell, Luke Entertainment Group

How does an oil and gas exploration firm called First Petroleum & Pipeline, Inc. suddenly become an entertainment company run by none other than former 2 Live Crew frontman Luther Campbell? Don't expect any answers from the company's new Web site. It seems the "technology-centric solutions" it lauds in its forward-looking statements are in need of a solution of their own -- the site doesn't work.

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Next Gallery: 10 Game Changers