Special Report
50 Least Powerful People in the World
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A lucky few possess great fame, wealth, and influence. Even fewer manage to hold on to these positions of power without mishap. Such great heights are often quite perilous, and for every large-scale success, there is often an equally epic fall.
24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of 50 well-known individuals around the world who have recently experienced a precipitous loss in stature. These individuals, be they influential political figures, powerful executives, or successful athletes, have each fallen a great distance from their peak — some by their own doing and some as a result of circumstance.
This loss of power can have very different negative outcomes, depending on the position the person held. For politicians, the worst kind of failure is often an image crisis that can damage a campaign for reelection or even destroy a career. For an athlete, losing a high-stakes game, sustaining a crippling injury, or being disgraced by a personal scandal can often be career ending. Executives, who are responsible for the financial health of their organizations, have a great deal to lose as well either through poor business decisions or through bad judgement in other areas.
Click here to see the 50 least powerful people in the world.
In all cases, these people’s losses in stature lead either to a loss of work, income, or even, in the case of corruption and other criminal charges, to a loss of freedom altogether. The manner in which these failures occurred vary considerably.
For example, politician Sheldon Silver likely earned his current level of disgrace as he was recently sentenced to over a decade in prison on corruption, money laundering, and fraud charges. For other fallen politicians, however, uncontrollable forces likely explain their decline better than personal failings. In the most recent presidential primary race, for instance, Jeb Bush had the name recognition, financial status, powerful connections, public support, and any number of other political advantages. Yet, he utterly failed to clinch the Republican nomination, largely due to the phenomenon of Donald Trump.
As the face of their organizations, corporate executives are beholden to shareholders as well as the general public. In some cases, an executive’s bad business strategy and risky decisions have earned his or her position on this list. Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, for instance, deliberately misled her clients.
On the other hand, some executives and bureaucrats listed here have seen the power of their positions erode beneath their feet through no fault of their own. The U.S. Postmaster General and the head of OPEC each once had enormous influence. Due to technological developments and supply shifts in the global economy, each of these individuals have considerably less power today than they might have had years ago.
Athletic careers take downward turns along equally disparate paths. Rising football star Johnny Manziel was poised to become a champion. Due mostly to his inappropriate and reckless behavior, however, he swiftly embarrassed himself and his team. He may never play NFL football again. UFC champion Ronda Rousey’s fall from grace is another story entirely. A single devastating knockout brought Rousey down from her then seemingly unbeatable peak. While her loss of stature was indeed massive, it was also likely inevitable.
To identify the 50 least influential people in the world, 24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of as many well-known individuals around the world who have recently experienced a precipitous loss in stature as possible. Of these individuals, we attempted to select those who fell the furthest from the greatest height.
Correction: In a previous version of this article we wrote that Dilma Rousseff had been in power since 2003. In fact, she assumed her office in 2011.
1. Bill Ackman
Title: Executive
Bill Ackman had the best returns of any hedge fund manager in 2014, which put him on the list of the top 20 best-performing hedge fund managers of all time. Since then, however, Ackman has lost billions of dollars on his bet on Valeant Pharmaceuticals, whose stock plummeted after federal investigators probed the company’s drug pricing practices. Ackman also lost big after taking a short position on Herbalife, publicly declaring the company was a Ponzi scheme that would tank. As Herbalife stock continued to rise, Ackman has fallen off the list of the top 20
hedge fund managers.
2. Roger Ailes
Title: Executive
As the head of the Fox News Channel since its inception in 1996, Roger Ailes was arguably one of the most influential people in America. His decline began when former daytime anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment suit against him. In the suit Carlson claims that Ailes made aggressive sexual advances at her and then had her fired when she rejected him. Ailes denied the allegations, but dozens of women came forward with stories of harassment since Carlson’s suit was filed. Ailes was forced out of office last month.
3. Hulusi Akar
Title: General
The Turkish military is the second largest of any NATO member nation, and it is central to the nation’s identity. In July, however, a failed coup led by 8,600 soldiers has left the military in disarray. Hulusi Akar, the highest ranking official in the Turkish military, was forced at gunpoint to sign a military coup declaration against his own government. The coup failed when Akar refused to participate and was eventually rescued by Turkish security forces. In response, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rounded up and jailed thousands of military personnel suspected to have taken part in the coup. With a fractured army, Turkey has removed the coast guard and police force from military control. The shift has ultimately weakened General Akar’s role.
4. Emperor Akihito
Title: Emperor
Once among the most powerful positions in the world, the emperor of Japan now has no political influence. Japanese law does not currently permit abdication, but Akihito recently suggested he wished to do so. If the law were to change, and Akihito were to abdicate, it would be the first resignation of a Japanese emperor since 1817. The emperor’s stated wish to step down shows not only how little he may be needed in the country’s political affairs, but also serves as a testament to the title’s limited influence.
5 Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo
Title: Secretary General
Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo assumed on August 1, 2016 the office of Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC relies on the cooperation from its member nations to control the world’s oil prices. However, in response to increased competition from the United States, in late 2014 Saudi Arabia increased oil production and offered discounts to customers in Asia. While this worked against U.S. oil companies with more than 80 filing for bankruptcy, it also hurt other OPEC member nations and considerably weakened the organization. The position of secretary general today is a much less influential than it once was.
6. Anthony Batts
Title: Police Commissioner
As police commissioner, Anthony Batts was the highest ranking officer at the Baltimore Police Department, the eighth largest municipal police force in the country. After a spike in the number of homicides and the widely covered Baltimore riots, Batts was fired by the city and replaced immediately by then-deputy commissioner Kevin Davis. The BPD itself has also sustained a considerable loss of prestige. In a recent damning, 163-page Department of Justice report, investigators concluded that the conduct of the BPD violates federal law. Unconstitutional arrests that disproportionately affect African Americans were among the patterns identified.
7. Pope Benedict
Title: Former pope
Pope Benedict XVI, known previously as Joseph Ratzinger, assumed the highest position in the Roman Catholic church in 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II. Ratzinger had big shoes to fill as Paul II left a powerful legacy after nearly three-decades as pope — he was also canonized by the church. Benedict XVI, meanwhile, became the first pope to retire in nearly six centuries. His replacement, Pope Francis, has already arguably overshadowed his predecessor, with many saying he has helped make the Catholic Church a more inclusive, tolerant, and appealing body.
8. Noel Biderman
Title: Executive
In 2010, Noel Biderman became CEO of Ashley Madison, an Internet service that facilitates extramarital affairs. Dubbed the “King of Infidelity,” Biderman was at the helm of the company when a 2015 data hack lead to the release of the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of a large portion of the site’s 37 million users. As a direct result of the data hack, Biderman stepped down as CEO.
9. John Boehner
Title: Politician
Ohio politician John Boehner’s largely unblemished and successful government career reached a peak in 2011 when he became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Amid heated criticism of his ties to lobbyists and ongoing turmoil within the Republican Party, Boehner resigned as Speaker in September last year. In the same announcement, Boehner said he would be leaving Congress altogether.
10. Bill de Blasio
Title: Politician
Bill de Blasio was elected in 2013 mayor of New York City, taking over the position that Michael Bloomberg had held for three four-year terms. The most left-leaning candidate to hold the office in years, many liberal democrats had high hopes for the new mayor. However, even his most avid supporters would admit that de Blasio may be destined to depart after a single term, if not sooner. The mayor’s administration is now the subject of five separate investigations surrounding potential corruption in relation to his 2014 fundraising, including one investigation by the FBI.
11. Sepp Blatter
Title: Executive
For 17 years, Sepp Blatter was president of International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the governing body of soccer — the most popular sport in the world. FIFA had been dogged by rumors of corruption for years, but Blatter adamantly denied these. He continued denying them even as evidence mounted that he and several other top officials had each been the recipients of tens of millions of dollars in under-the-table bonuses. In addition, Blatter was accused racketeering and other ethics violations. FIFA forced Blatter to resign and banned him from attending FIFA soccer games for eight years.
12. Megan Brennan
Title: Postmaster General
Megan Brennan became last February the first woman Postmaster General of the United States. As first class mail volume — the most profitable postal segment — continues to decline, Brennan may be one of the last individuals to ever hold the once highly influential position. In her own words at a recent congressional hearing, Brennan described the U.S. Postal Service as “not sustainable.” As Brennan explained, the USPS maintains an extensive network, and “the cost of the network is fixed or growing, regardless of volume.” Having already posted more than $3 billion in losses this year, Brennan and the USPS face an uphill battle to return to profitability.
13. Ursula Burns
Title: Executive
Appointed chief executive of Xerox in 2009, Ursula Burns is the first black woman in history to run a Fortune 500 company. Burns’s position at Xerox is all the more remarkable as she started at the very bottom — a summer intern — in 1980. Though her personal story is a manifestation of the American dream, Xerox’s story is that of a once great American company in near free fall.
Revenue dropped in each of the past five years, and the company announced its intention to split by year’s end. Notably, Burns will no longer be at the helm after the planned spinoff.
14. Jeb Bush
Title: Politician
Former Florida Governor, son of one former American president and brother of another, Jeb Bush is a member of one of America’s great political dynasties. At one time, his experience and family connections had many convinced he would be a shoo as the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nominee. Once the primary race began, however, Bush was not able to gain traction with a majority of conservative voters. Despite raising more than $160 million, far more than any of other candidate, Bush suffered embarrassing defeats in the Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina primaries. He suspended his bid for the presidency on February 20, 2016.
15. David Cameron
Title: Politician
The citizens of Great Britain voted in a referendum this year to leave the European Union, the economic partnership the country had been a part of since 1973. While some prominent politicians supported the move, referred to as Brexit, UK Prime Minister David Cameron was adamantly against it. When the referendum succeeded under his watch, Cameron promptly resigned in a short speech outside of 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s home and office.
16. Eric Cantor
Title: Politician
Eric Cantor was first sent to Washington in 2001 as a congressional representative from Virginia’s 7th District. He made a name for himself among conservatives in Washington, and in 2011 became House Majority Leader. To many he was the obvious choice for the next Speaker of the House. However, in the 2014 primary election, Cantor lost to Tea Party-backed college professor, David Brat. Very few could have predicted the defeat as Cantor’s campaign raised some $5.4 million, while Brat’s camp barely raised $200,000. Cantor lost by 11 points. This was especially astounding as he had won 79% of the vote in his district in a previous primary. For an incumbent of Cantor’s rank to lose in a primary was unprecedented.
17. El Chapo
Title: Kingpin
Joaquín Guzmán, commonly known as El Chapo, was dubbed the biggest drug trafficker of all time by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. At the head of the powerful and violent Sinaloa Cartel, El Chapo used Chicago as a distribution hub for U.S markets. The DEA estimated that at one point the Sinaloa Cartel supplied as much as 80% of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine consumed in the city. Just months after a much publicized, and criticized, interview with American actor Sean Penn, Mexican marines were able to determine Guzmán’s whereabouts, and in January 2016, he was captured. Assuming he does not escape, which he has been known to do, El Chapo is expected to spend the rest of his life in jail.
18. Chris Christie
Title: Politician
In the most recent of numerous political misfortunes, Christie lost his bid as a Republican presidential candidate. Raising only $27 million in his campaign, seven other Republican presidential hopefuls raised more funds than Christie. While running, Christie often offered sharp criticism of opponent Donald Trump. However, after dropping out of the race, Christie immediately threw his support behind his former rival. To many, the reversal was perceived as opportunistic and politically calculating, a direct contradiction of the public image he had built for himself.
19. Bill Cosby
Title: Comedian
Arguably, no celebrity has experienced a greater fall from grace than Bill Cosby. Cosby was the star of his own wildly popular television show for close to a decade and was the spokesman for a number of popular brands, including Coca-Cola, Kodak, and most famously, Jello. He was beloved by many for his dad jokes and sweaters. In 2004, Andrea Constand came forward claiming Cosby had drugged and raped her. To date, more than 50 women have submitted claims of sexual assault against Cosby. A Pennsylvania judge determined this May that there was enough evidence for Cosby to stand trial. He will stand trial for three felony aggravated indecent assault charges.
20. Nick Denton
Title: Executive
Nick Denton started Gawker Media in 2002, and as the company expanded to include a number of successful sites, including Gizmodo, Deadspin, Jezebel, and Jalopnik, Denton found success and wealth as one of the pioneers of digital media. In March, Terry Bollea, the man known as superstar wrestler Hulk Hogan sued Gawker Media for releasing a sex tape he had recorded. The court found in favor of Bollea, and ordered Gawker to pay $140 million. After the conclusion of the lawsuit, it was revealed that venture capitalist Peter Thiel had bankrolled the lawsuit, ostensibly as revenge for being outed as gay in Valleywag, a now-defunct Gawker enterprise. The company filed for bankruptcy in June and the remains were bought by Univision. Denton, however, will not be a part of the new company. In addition, Univision will pay Denton to stay out of the media business for two years.
21. Johnny Depp
Title: Actor
Actor, film producer, and musician Johnny Depp is one of the world’s most well-known and highest paid film stars. Depp and actress Amber Heard reached a divorce settlement on August 16, one day before a restraining order hearing of Heard against Depp was to take place. Claims that Depp was physically abusive began in May of this year, when Heard appeared at early divorce proceedings with bruises on her face and was granted a temporary restraining order. The claims were substantiated on August 12 when a video leaked showing a violent Depp yelling at Heard and smashing a wine glass. The divorce settlement is for $7 million and will go to charity at Heard’s request.
22. Jared Fogle
Title: Spokesperson
Jared Fogle was once perhaps the most recognizable corporate spokesman in the country. Today, he may just be the most recognizable convicted felon. Fogle’s career took off when fast food chain Subway learned he had lost nearly 200 pounds with moderate exercise and a diet of Subway’s sandwiches. First appearing in a Subway ad in 2000, Fogle was employed by the company for 15 years as the face of a hugely successful ad campaign. His tenure with the company came to an abrupt halt after revelations that Fogle paid to engage in sexually explicit acts with minors and received and distributed child pornography. After pleading guilty to several charges, Fogle was sentenced to over 15 years in prison and agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution to more than a dozen victims.
23. Elizabeth Holmes
Title: Executive
At 19 years old, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford to start a business, Theranos. The company’s flagship product Edison could draw and test blood through a single finger prick. The company raised more than $750 million in venture capital, and Holmes became the youngest self-made female billionaire in history. After The Wall Street Journal began investigating the accuracy of the blood tests, however, it was soon found that the Edison devices were faulty. Theranos voided all blood testing results from 2014 and 2015, and Holmes’s net worth fell from $4.5 billion — her 50% stake in the company — to nothing.
24. Kathleen Kane
Title: Attorney general
Elected as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General in 2012, Kathleen Kane was recently found guilty of nine criminal charges. The charges included two felony counts of perjury and, ironically, one count of obstruction of justice. Once a promising Democratic politician, Kane is now facing at least 14 years in prison. Kane resigned from her position on August 17, 2016, two days after her conviction.
25. Linda Katehi
Title: University chancellor
Three months after being placed on administrative leave while under investigation for potential wrongdoing, Linda Katehi resigned from her post as chancellor of University of California, Davis. An investigative report concluded that Katehi hired social media consultants to suppress negative Internet press about a 2011 incident in which a campus police officer pepper-sprayed peaceful student protesters. Katehi also faced criticism for moonlighting on the boards of multiple universities and potentially influencing the hiring and promotion of her family members.
26. Renaud Laplanche
Title: Executive
Peer-to-peer lenders have emerged as a popular alternative to traditional bank loans for businesses and investors. The largest of these is LendingClub, which has funded more than $20 billion in loans to date. CEO Renaud Laplanche was suddenly fired in May after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose his own personal investment in a private fund in which the company was also considering purchasing a stake. Shortly after the announcement, LendingClub revealed that it had been subpoenaed by the U.S. Justice Department, ostensibly for other failed accounting practices that had occurred on Laplanche’s watch.
27. Ryan Lochte
Title: Athlete
The U.S. olympic swimming team was poised to leave Rio in triumph, winning 16 golds and 33 medals overall. Unfortunately, this has been largely overshadowed by news that four athletes, including Ryan Lochte, one of the country’s best swimmers, had lied about being robbed at gunpoint. When police investigated the robbery, their findings differed from Lochte’s account. Eventually, it became clear that Lochte and the others, who had been drunk that night, had lied about the events. Lochte had actually vandalized a sign outside a gas station. After initially sticking to his story, Lochte went on national television and admitted the truth. Perhaps most telling of Lochte’s fall from grace is the loss all four of his sponsorship contracts.
28. Paul Manafort
Title: Campaign director
Paul Manafort served as the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign chairman until he was forced to resign in August — just three months before the election. Prior to managing the Trump campaign, Manafort worked for over a decade as lobbyist for Russian-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The New York Times recently reported that Yanukovych’s party paid Manafort more than $12.7 million in cash. The apparent conflict of interest was too much for the Trump campaign to absorb. Amidst already sliding poll numbers, Manafort stepped down.
29. Johnny Manziel
Title: Athlete
Success in the National Football League, the biggest sports stage in America, is a guarantee for no one. However, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel seemed as close to a sure bet as any player. Picked by the Cleveland Browns in the first round, Manziel was presumed by many to be tagged as the franchise’s quarterback of the future. Manziel’s short career was plagued with behavioral issues, substance abuse, and unmet expectations. He finished his career with as many fumbles and interceptions as touchdowns. Less than two years after he was drafted, the Browns cut the man known as Johnny Football — and many speculate he is done in the NFL for good.
30. Garry McCarthy
Title: Police superintendent
Garry McCarthy had a long and distinguished career in public service before he was fired by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel from his position as Superintendent of Chicago Police. McCarthy headed Compstat, a statistical system for tracking crime in New York, served at ground zero after 9/11, and was eventually appointed by Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker to head up his city’s police force. Crime rates dropped considerably under his watch. However, when he was appointed top cop in Chicago, becoming the highest paid public official in the city, McCarthy’s career took a turn to the worst. An investigative report alleged that better crime numbers under McCarthy’s watch only reflected statistical tricks and not actual drops in crime. In 2015, following the release of a video depicting a white Chicago police officer shooting a black suspect more than a dozen times, Emanuel fired McCarthy.
31. Pat McCrory
Title: Politician
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed House Bill 2 earlier this year, which could lead to his loss of the governorship in November in addition to damage already done. According to one poll, the vast majority of state voters believe the bill has hurt North Carolina’s reputation. The bill stipulates that individuals must use the restroom that corresponds with the gender indicated on their birth certificate — a designation that does not always line up with one’s gender identity. As a result of the controversial bill, the state has been sued by the U.S. Department of Justice. Online payment company PayPal and Deutsche Bank abandoned plans to expand operations in the state, and the NBA announced plans to move the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina.
32. Keith Olbermann
Title TV personality
Keith Olbermann distinguished himself early in his career as a sportscaster, working on multiple local radio and television stations. As his career progressed, however, he became increasingly vocal on American politics and became better known for his controversial political commentary. Dubbed a bridge-burner by some critics, Olbermann has come and gone from several high profile jobs at CNN, ESPN, Fox Sports, and MSNBC. He was vehemently critical of the second Bush administration, and his partisan rhetoric has rubbed many viewers the wrong way. In early 2015, Olbermann was suspended from his position at ESPN for tweeting that Penn State students are “pitiful” after the NCAA announced plans to reverse penalties stemming from the Sandusky scandal. Most recently, ESPN announced it would not be renewing his contract.
33. Michael Pearson
Title: Executive
Probes into Valeant Pharmaceuticals over the past year have revealed that the company regularly engaged in price gouging, accounting fraud, and the questionable practice of buying up rival companies and cutting their research and development budgets. When the accusations came to light, Valeant’s stock tanked and CEO Michael Pearson was fired. Pearson’s firing was partially brought on by Bill Ackman, a member of the Valeant board whose hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, lost billions through its investment in the pharmaceutical company.
34. David Petraeus
Title: General
A West Point graduate, David Petraeus’s career is largely defined by military service. After commanding the 101st Airborne Division in Baghdad and Mosul, Petraeus was promoted in 2007 by former President George W. Bush to the rank of full general and commander of military operations in Iraq. President Barack Obama subsequently placed Petraeus at the head of military operations in Afghanistan in 2010. One year later, Obama appointed Petraeus director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
In 2012, Petraeus abruptly resigned from his post at the CIA, acknowledging shortly afterward an extra-marital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Worse than the affair perhaps was the general admitting to sharing classified government information with Broadwell in a plea deal with the Department of Justice.
35. Alex Rodriguez
Title: Athlete
In late 2007, the New York Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $275 million contract, which at the time made him the highest paid player in professional baseball. He had just won his third league MVP in five years. The following season, Rodriguez won a World Series ring with the Yankees. In 2014, news broke that Rodriguez had not only been using illegal performance enhancing drugs, but also had actively tried to suppress investigation. Rodriguez was hit with a one-year ban, the longest drug-related suspension in baseball history. This August, Rodriguez unceremoniously announced his retirement from baseball, much in contrast to the overwhelming praise from the entire sports community former teammate Derek Jeter received when he retired in 2014.
36. Ronda Rousey
Title: Athlete
Mixed martial arts fighter Ronda Rousey became the first female UFC champion in 2012. She quickly became not just the best fighter, but also a cultural icon. Believed to be unbeatable in the ring, Rousey’s fights rarely lasted more than one round. She also drew criticism for mocking her opponents with comments such as, “I can beat everyone in my division with one arm tied behind my back.” At the end of last year, to the joy of her many rivals, Rousey’s dominance was crushed with a knockout kick by Holly Holms. Roussey was hospitalized, ridiculed mercilessly by MMA fans, and has yet to return to the ring.
37. Dilma Rousseff
Title: Politician
The first female President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, is currently suspended from her position amidst accusations that she illegally fudged government balance sheets to hide the true financial troubles her country faces. In power since 2011, massive protests broke out upon Rousseff’s 2014 reelection due to a pervasive public perception of corruption. Her current impeachment trial kept Rousseff from participating in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the first ever held in South America.
38. Maria Sharapova
Title: Athlete
Maria Sharapova is one of the most recognized names in tennis, and in sports in general. A five-time grand slam winner, Sharapova had a number of major sponsorship deals, and was scheduled to compete for team Russia in the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, in March, Sharapova was caught using a banned substance at the Australian Open. The tennis star was banned from professional competition for two years, and sponsors such as Nike, Porsche, and others severed ties with the star.
39. Martin Shkreli
Title: Executive
As the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli bought the rights to a drug called Daraprim, which can be life saving for certain HIV patients. After purchasing the rights to the drug, Shkreli raised the price of a single pill from less than $20 to $750. While hiking drug prices is a common practice in the pharmaceutical industry, it was the scale of the hike and the nature of the drug as life saving that created the public outcry and backlash, even within the industry itself. Not long after, Shkreli was indicted on fraud charges related to his hedge fund, forcing him to step down as CEO of Turing. Adding fuel to the fire among some music fans, Shkreli paid $2 million for the single copy of an otherwise unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album. Regarding the album, Shkreli is quoted as saying he does not plan to listen to it and only bought it to keep it from the people.
40. Sheldon Silver
Title: Politician
In one of the most high-profile cases of modern American political corruption that is still unfolding, former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison this May. The court found that the prominent New York Democrat had committed fraud, extortion, and money laundering. Silver was ordered to pay more than $7 million, $5.3 million of which were funds he had acquired through his illegal activities. Silver served as the highest ranking state assemblyman for more than two decades.
41. Hope Solo
Title: Athlete
Soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo was one of the most revered female athletes in the country as of last July. Solo had just helped lead the U.S. women’s national team to its first World Cup victory since 1999, and had two olympic golds under her belt as well. Solo’s legacy may now be irrevocably tarnished, however. At the Rio olympics Team USA lost on penalty kicks to Sweden in the quarterfinals, breaking the streak of three straight gold medals. In the aftermath of the upset, Solo called the Swedish team “a bunch of cowards” and received a six-month ban from the sport. Solo also has a pending domestic violence case against her.
42. Kenneth Starr
Title: University president
Kenneth Starr is perhaps best known for aggressively leading the charge against then-President Bill Clinton for his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. While many have alleged the attacks were politically motivated, Starr insisted he prosecuted the president on moral grounds. Given recent events, Starr’s claim to hold moral high ground now seems dubious. As president of Baylor University, he failed to investigate multiple allegations of sexual assault on campus, many against the school’s football team, which is a major cash cow for the school. As a result, Starr was removed from his position as president and resigned from his position as Baylor’s chancellor just days later.
43. Donald Sterling
Title: Executive
Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team received in April 2014 a lifetime ban from the NBA. The punishment came three days after a leaked audio recording of Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to Clippers games was published on TMZ.com. Sterling was also fined $2.5 million, the maximum fine allowed by the NBA constitution, and he faced enormous pressure to sell the team. Despite Sterling’s efforts to block the deal, his wife, who had co-owned the team with her husband since 1981, sold the Clippers to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in August of that year.
44. Taylor Swift
Title: Musician
Throughout her career, Taylor Swift has cultivated an image as good girl, one which has been central to her music and celebrity legacy. Part of that legacy is her feud with Kanye West, which began when the rapper interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 Video Music Awards. The feud continued when West released “Famous,” a song claiming that he was responsible for Swift’s fame. In a speech at the 2016 Grammys, Swift disparaged the song and painted Kanye as a bully. Swift’s innocent persona was challenged, however, when West’s spouse Kim Kardashian West released a Snapchat video that revealed Swift had preapproved the lyrics to “Famous,” suggesting it may even be good marketing for the two artists. The episode has manifested on Twitter in the hashtag #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty, and it may have done irreversible damage to the singer’s image.
45. Tim Tebow
Title: Athlete
Like Johnny Manziel, another person on this list, Tim Tebow came into the NFL with prestige, promise, and a magnetic personality. Also like Manziel, Tebow won the Heisman Trophy as a college quarterback. Also he had dominant 2010 Sugar Bowl performance. Many NFL critics were skeptical of Tebow’s mechanics, and it appears there was merit in their critique. Tebow played two seasons for the Denver Broncos, one for the New York Jets, and was hired as a backup for the New England Patriots and finally the Philadelphia Eagles, but never played a game for either team. Tebow was let go for the last time in 2015 and now is considering a career in baseball.
46. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Title: Politician
Debbie Wasserman Schultz was chairperson of the Democratic National Committee from 2011 to 2016. She resigned from her position, however, on the first day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention after leaked e-mails revealed that DNC staff had favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the party’s presidential nomination contest. Some e-mails showed party officials strategizing methods to weaken support for the Sanders campaign.
47. Brian Williams
Title: Journalist
Taking the reins from Tom Brokaw in 2004, Brian Williams served as the anchor for NBC Nightly News for over a decade. During Williams’s tenure, NBC led all other nightly news networks in ratings. However, trouble began in early 2015 when it came to light that Williams had falsified a specific experience he had covered during the Iraq War. Williams admitted to a military newspaper that he had repeatedly lied about being a passenger on a helicopter that came under fire. When an on-air apology failed to mollify viewers who expected their news anchor to be 100% trustworthy and accountable, NBC suspended him from the broadcast for six months and ultimately concluded he could not return to the anchor desk.
48. Martin Winterkorn
Title: Executive
The Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of illegally manipulating emissions results on its cars last September. After the ensuing scandal, CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned, losing control over one of the world’s largest car manufacturers. While the company claimed the wrongdoing was limited to a small group of middle managers, German prosecutors have recently launched an investigation to determine Winterkorn’s involvement. Although the results of the probe have yet to be released, many speculate that Winterkorn’s demanding management style either directly or indirectly contributed to the scandal.
49. Tiger Woods
Title: Athlete
Few would argue against calling Tiger Woods one of the greatest golfers of all time. Last year, ESPN named him one of the three best athletes of the past 20 years. However, the athlete’s career may be ending in a way no one would have predicted a decade ago. In 2009, Woods was outed as a serial philanderer and lost sponsorships with AT&T, Golf Digest, Gillette, Gatorade, and others. Now, Woods has been plagued by a back injury, and his future as a golfer is uncertain.
50. Alexander Zhukov
Title: Politician
Only 271 Russian athletes participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics, far fewer than the 389 that initially qualified. Nearly a third of Russian athletes were barred from participation by the International Olympic Committee due to revelations of widespread doping. As president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov was blamed by many for the country’s global humiliation.
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