Financial Crisis: Where Are They Now?

In the past two years, powerful figures in both Washington and Wall Street became household names as the crisis deepened, markets and corporations struggled to survive and the federal government took drastic steps to save the economy. Whether they had a crucial hand in the crisis or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time may not be clear for years. Now, one year after the roughest stretch for the U.S. economy since the Great Depression, these financial titans have either stepped out of the spotlight or come to the end of their careers, voluntarily or not.So where they now? Click ahead to find out!By Paul ToscanoPosted 20 Oct 2009

Photo: Getty Images Then: Treasury SecretaryNow: Working on a book detailing the crisisPaulson was the de-facto leader of the government's effort to stem the tide of bad loans made by the country's financial institutions. Working with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Paulson oversaw conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, billions in government assistance to AIG, the $700 - billion TARP program and billions in other government initiatives. Since being succeeded by Tim Geithner in January 2009, Paulson has been entirely out of the public eye, declining numerous requests to appear in public. He is currently working on a book, which is yet-to-be-titled, offering an insider's account of his experiences throughout his time as Treasury Secretary. Profits from the book will be donated to the non-profit Homeownership Preservation Foundation.

Photo: Getty Images Then: President & CEO, Merrill LynchNow: Board of Directors, Alcoa O'Neal is widely blamed for steering the firm into sub-prime loans, which resulted in $8 billion in losses in the summer of 2007. O'Neal walked away from Merrill Lynch with a severance package valued at $161.5 million and was replaced by John Thain. However, it didn't take long for O'Neal to get back into the business world, when in January 2008 he was named to the board of directors of Alcoa. In April 2009, he was also named to the board of American Beacon Advisors, an institutional investment advisory firm in Texas.

Photo: Getty Images Then: Chairman & CEO, Merrill LynchNow: Rebuilding CareerThe final chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch prior to the company's takeover by Bank of America, Thain was set to becoming the new company's president of global banking, securities and wealth management. However, after an unexpected loss of $15 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 and news that he spent over $1.2 million to decorate his office, Thain was asked to resign by Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis. After his unceremonious departure from the financial world, Thain immediately enlisted the PR firm Sunshine, Sachs & Associates, a firm that normally handles image problems of Hollywood celebrities, to help him salvage his reputation and rebuild his credibility for a potential comeback.

Photo: AP Then: Chairman & CEO, ChryslerNow: CEO, Cerberus Operating & Advisory CompanyHavng been forced out as CEO of Home Depot by the company's board (but with a $210 million severance package just the same), Nardelli eventually landed at Chrysler in August 2007.  His timing couldn't have been worse. Taking the top spot at the American car company, owned by Cerberus Capital, Nardelli came into the company just prior to the  massive economic downturn.Criticized for things ranging from use of  the company's corporate jet to  the rejection of a $750-million government loan that would have capped executive compensation, Nardelli saw the company into bankruptcy. After that Nardelli was named CEO of Cerberus Operating and Advisory Company. He is "responsible for the supervision and oversight of the management and operations of the portfolio companies in which the funds and accounts managed by Cerberus and its affiliates are invested," according to the company.

Photo: Getty Images Then: SEC ChairmanNow: Partner, Bingham McCutchen LLPNamed by President George W. Bush as the 28th chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the summer of 2005, Cox already had 16 years in Congress under his belt. During the financial crisis, Cox imposed a variety of emergency restrictions on the stock market, including bans on naked short selling. Heavily criticized in many quarters, from pundits to presidential candidates, Cox was succeeded by Mary Schapiro in January 2009. Cox is currently practicing law in southern California - his pre-governmental profession - as a partner for Bingham McCutchen LLP, dealing with corporate mergers and acquisitions, as part of the firm's securities practice.

Photo: AP Then: Chairman & CEO, Lehman BrothersNow: Employed by Matrix AdvisorsFuld was the chairman and CEO of the ill-fated investment bank Lehman Brothers from 1994 through its chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in September 2008. The downward spiral began in 2008 when the company was hit by enormous losses in sub-prime mortgages, investments in low-rated tranches of complex derivatives and mortgage backed securities. Fuld took "full responsibility" for the decisions he made and the actions he took. He also took home an estimated $300 million in pay and bonuses since 2000, according to his testimony in Congress.One of the major scapegoats of the financial crisis, Fuld had been reported to be at his home in Ketchum, Idaho, but took up a position with the hedge fund Matrix Advisors this past April. Although Fuld currently faces no criminal charges at this time, there are several potential lawsuits on the horizon that may significantly hinder any attempt for him to reenter the Wall Street scene.

Photo: AP Then: CEO, General MotorsNow: Laying lowWagoner was asked to step down as CEO by the Obama Administration in March amid the government's bailout effort. Several months later the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move which Wagoner adamantly argued against throughout his final months on the job. Wagoner was criticized, among other things, for using a GM corporate jet to attend government assistance hearings, presiding over $85 billion in losses and being eligible for a $20 million retirement package, which he accrued over nearly 32 years working at the company. Wagoner has declined multiple requests for interviews since his resignation and has stayed out of the spotlight. He is remains a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees as well as several other advisory positions.

Photo: Getty Images Then: Chairman & CEO, CitigroupNow: Vice Chairman, Stonebridge Int'lPrince served as CEO from 2003 through 2007, retiring after losses related to CDO and MBS investments caused multi-billion dollar write-downs and losses in the third quarter of 2007. Some analysts say Prince is one of the players at the heart of the financial crisis, even though he left early on, replaced by current Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit. Prince left Citigroup with a severance package estimated at $95 million in stock, bonuses and other benefits, but that hasn't kept him on the sidelines. In September 2008, Prince was taken on by international advisory firm Stonebridge International as vice chairman to help "the firm and its clients identify and pursue new opportunities around the world at the nexus of international commerce and public policy." Off all the figures in the financial crisis, Prince may have fared the best.

Photo: CNBC.com Then: Developed the Gaussian Copula FunctionNow: Head of Risk Management, CICCPerhaps one of the most unknown names of the financial crisis, Li cannot be overlooked. A mathematician/statistician originally from China, Li amassed a number of degrees before entering the financial industry in 1997, bouncing around between several banks, including Barclays Capital and JPMorgan Chase. In 2000, Li published a paper that featured a Gaussian Copula Function (displayed on the left), which allowed modeling of risk and default correlation that was used to an increasingly large extent by derivative traders on Wall Street. Although Li was simply an enabler (he did not endorse the use of his formula in this way), the formula is considered a contributing factor to the financial crisis.Wired Magazine, which provides an in-depth explanation of Li's processes, reports that he is currently employed by the China International Capital Corporation as the head of the risk management.

Photo: Getty Images Then: Chairman & CEO, CountrywideNow: Laying lowThe founder of Countrywide Financial, Mozilo is heavily regarded as being at the epicenter of the sub-prime loan earthquake that shook the American financial system at the beginning of the crisis. After Countrywide was absorbed by Bank of America for $4 billion in the summer of 2008, Mozilo was pushed out of the company. Amid heavy public pressure, he gave up his $37.5 million severance package. On June 4, 2009, the SEC charged him with securities fraud for "deliberately misleading investors about significant credit risks" and insider trading after selling his stock based upon non-public information for close to $140 million in profits. Mozilo has been concentrating on his legal battles at his home in California.

Photo: Getty Images Then: Founder, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLCNow: Prisoner #61727-054The perpetrator of the biggest Ponzi scheme in the history of American business, Madoff 's 20-year scam was exposed by the market's rapid decline. After pleading guilty to 11 felony charges in March 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison.He is currently at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, approximately 45 minutes northwest of Raleigh. Although it is a medium security prison, it houses inmates carrying life sentences for violent and drug-related crimes. According the the Bureau of Prisons, Madoff's projected release date (with good behavior) is Nov. 14, 2139. His prisoner number is #61727-054.

Photo: Bear Stearns Then: CEO, Bear StearnsNow: RetiredForced to step down as the CEO in January 2008, Cayne's net worth went down with the sinking ship of Bear Stearns in March 2007. He sold his entire stake in the company, once valued at close to $1 billion, for $61 million. After remaining on as chairman, he was infamously unreachable while playing bridge in Detroit as Bear's stock collapsed. Cayne has kept mostly to himself and has settled into retirement, reportedly playing bridge and occasionally dining at New York's San Pietro, according to CNBC's Charlie Gasparino, who also reports that sources close to Cayne say that he still has anywhere between $50 and $100 million.

Photo: Getty Images Then: Chairman & CEO, Bear StearnsNow: Exec Chairman, Guggenheim PartnersWhen Schwartz took the helm at Bear Stearns in January 2008, the company's stock was worth around $75 per share, but three months later around the time JPMorgan Chase absorbed the company, the price was in the single digits. Part of the company since 1976, Schwartz was the head of the investment banking division since 1985 and became co-president and co-COO in 2000. He saw the company pioneer securitization in asset-backed securities, which eventually led to its demise. Schwartz is currently executive chairman for Guggenheim Partners, for which he will be supervising about $100 billion in asset-management and advisory accounts, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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