Auto legend and ex-GM exec Bob Lutz slams fugitive Carlos Ghosn, says he has a 'god complex' and 'CEO disease'
- The allegations that Carlos Ghosn, the former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, underreported his income at Nissan and used company money for personal gain are not surprising, former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz told CNBC on Thursday.
- Over time, Ghosn's ego has inflated, Lutz said, and Ghosn has developed what the former GM executive called "CEO disease."
- "These people who receive nothing but adulation from the media and from inside their own companies, never receive any negative feedback, they tend to develop this god complex and believe that they are above the law, to some extent," Lutz said.
- A representative for Ghosn told Business Insider that CNBC's interview with Jeff Sonnenfeld, the associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Managemen, on Thursday was "far more relevant and informed" than Lutz's.
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The allegations that Carlos Ghosn, the former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, underreported his income at Nissan and used company money for personal gain are not surprising, former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz told CNBC on Thursday. Ghosn has denied those charges.
Over time, Ghosn's ego has inflated, Lutz said, and Ghosn has developed what the former GM executive called "CEO disease."
"That type of personality does tend to pretty easily slip over the line and do things that the rest of us would not do because they think they're so important and so well-connected and of such vast importance to the economy that nobody would ever call them out on it," Lutz said.
"These people who receive nothing but adulation from the media and from inside their own companies, never receive any negative feedback, they tend to develop this god complex and believe that they are above the law, to some extent," he added.
While Lutz said he was not accusing Ghosn of being guilty of financial misconduct, he said would be surprised if the charges against Ghosn were part of a conspiracy from within Nissan, as Ghosn has alleged.
A representative for Ghosn told Business Insider that CNBC's interview with Jeff Sonnenfeld, the associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Managemen, on Thursday was "far more relevant and informed" than Lutz's.
Lutz's comments came after Ghosn fled Japan, where he was awaiting trial, to Lebanon, where he grew up, with the help of a private security company, Reuters reported. Ghosn had hoped that his trial would be more likely to have a favorable outcome if it was held in Lebanon than in Japan, where the conviction rate is 99%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied, in flagrant disregard of Japan's legal obligations under international law and treaties it is bound to uphold," Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement, The New York Times reported.
Watch CNBC's full interview here.
- Read more:
- Carlos Ghosn reportedly celebrated New Year's Eve at a glitzy dinner with his wife in Lebanon after his mysterious escape from Japan
- Carlos Ghosn reportedly fled prosecution in Japan by hiding in a box on a private jet. Meet Nissan's disgraced former chairman, who was charged in 2018 with underreporting his compensation.
- Carlos Ghosn said his family didn't help with his Houdini-like escape from Japan to Lebanon
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