The Frat Boys

That's what "the cadre of young, ambitious senior managers [former CEO Charles C. "Chuck" Conaway] recruited after arriving at Kmart in May, 2000, was called. Dumber than dirt, and proud of it, eh? AP (11.29.05):

"As many as 150,000 employees and retirees of the former Kmart Corp. would share $11.75 million in a proposed settlement of a lawsuit against ex-company officials over the investment of pension funds in Kmart's now worthless stock. The agreement involves those who participated in Kmart pensions from March 15, 1999, to March 6, 2003. Court documents say the people involved lost between $28 million and $300 million." Kmart Workers, Retirees in Pension Deal

Wait a minute. You lose anywhere from $28 to $300 because of the idiots running the show, and the company only has to cough up $11.75? "The suit said the company officials invested Kmart pension money in Kmart stock after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 22, 2002. It said the officials failed to exercise proper care for the pension money." Yeah, investing in a company that's just filed bankruptcy doesn't sound like all that great of an idea. What each person will get "will be determined by how many people held Kmart stock in the retirement plan, how much they held and when they acquired it." If each of the 150,000 had shared equally in the settlement (assuming the lawyers don't take anything, ha, ha), that would work out to a little over $79.00 each. And the lawyers? The settlement provides they get "up to 20% of the settlement for legal fees and costs of bringing the lawsuit". A little bit about the KMart management team in place at the time. Detroit Free Press (11.29.05):

"Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 22, 2002, after a team of executives known inside the company as the Frat Boys, allegedly misused corporate jets, drove luxury leased cars, and received lavish salaries while steering the company into the largest retail bankruptcy in history. During bankruptcy, the company reorganized and shed 602 stores and 54,000 workers." Kmart, employees settle for $11 million

"The bankruptcy also wiped out some $6.3 billion in shareholder equity and left creditors with $6 billion in unpaid bills." Ooops!! Sorry.