Behind the polished boardrooms and sharp suits, some CEOs have hidden jaw-dropping secrets. When these leaders fell, they didn’t just bring themselves down—they rocked industries and shattered public trust. Let’s dive into the most infamous CEO scandals and the explosive fallout they caused.
1. Elizabeth Holmes – The Theranos Mirage
She promised to revolutionize blood testing. What she delivered was a web of lies.
Elizabeth Holmes, once heralded as the next Steve Jobs, built Theranos into a $9 billion empire. Behind the scenes, though, the company’s “revolutionary” tech didn’t work. Her fraud trial revealed a chilling mix of ambition and deception.
2. Adam Neumann – The WeWork Implosion
From visionary to punchline in record time.
Adam Neumann sold the world on WeWork, a coworking utopia. But the company’s $47 billion valuation crumbled under scrutiny of Neumann’s eccentric spending habits, bizarre leadership style, and questionable financial practices.
3. Travis Kalanick – Uber’s Reckless Driver
He built a transportation giant—and a toxic culture.
Uber’s meteoric rise came with allegations of sexual harassment, aggressive tactics, and a frat-boy workplace culture. Kalanick’s resignation was inevitable, but Uber is still rebuilding its image.
4. Martin Shkreli – Pharma’s Most Hated ‘Bro’
His smirk became a meme, but his actions were no joke.
Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, hiked the price of a life-saving drug by over 5,000%. Public outrage was instant. Later, his conviction for securities fraud cemented his infamy.
5. Bernie Ebbers – The WorldCom Collapse
When fraud reaches $11 billion, it’s hard to ignore.
Under Bernie Ebbers’ watch, WorldCom used shady accounting to inflate profits. The scandal remains one of the largest corporate frauds in history, shaking investor confidence in the early 2000s.
6. Dennis Kozlowski – Champagne and Curtains
$6,000 shower curtains? Yes, you read that right.
Tyco’s former CEO, Dennis Kozlowski, turned the company into his personal piggy bank. Lavish parties and absurd expenses led to his conviction for grand larceny and securities fraud.
7. Jeffrey Skilling – Enron’s Fall from Grace
The poster child of corporate greed.
Enron’s creative accounting dazzled Wall Street—until it didn’t. Under Jeffrey Skilling, the company used fraud to hide massive debts, resulting in one of the most infamous corporate collapses ever.
8. Steve Easterbrook – The McScandal
From golden arches to a golden parachute.
McDonald’s fired CEO Steve Easterbrook for having inappropriate relationships with employees. Later, it was revealed he lied about multiple affairs, leading to a lawsuit and a tarnished legacy.
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9. Rajat Gupta – The Insider Trading Debacle
A trusted leader undone by greed.
As the former CEO of McKinsey & Company and a Goldman Sachs board member, Rajat Gupta had access to secrets. He shared those secrets illegally, earning himself a prison sentence. None other than Kim Kardashian lobbied Donald Trump for prison reform, skimming a full year off his sentence.
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10. John Stumpf – Wells Fargo’s Trust Crisis
Millions of fake accounts. Millions of betrayed customers.
Wells Fargo’s scandal under CEO John Stumpf revealed rampant fraud, as employees were pressured to meet unrealistic sales targets. The fallout included billions in fines and a public apology that felt too little, too late.