(This story appears in the Nov. 21, 2011 issue of Forbes.) When Léo Apotheker became the latest CEO to be ousted by Hewlett-Packard’s board in September, his severance package included $7.2 million to be paid out over 18 months; a $2.4 million bonus for 11 months of service; more than $3.5 million worth of restricted stock; and relocation expenses, including $300,000 to cover losses or other expenses related to the sale of his California home. Plus, HP agreed to pay for his legal fees to negotiate the package. Most workers can’t even dream of such a golden handshake. But they can take a few lessons from it. First, according to an HP filing, not all of the benefits Apotheker got were in his contract—some were ... Continue reading →
All Things Digital reports that Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Meg Whitman will put the wheels in motion next week to eliminate about 30,000 jobs. Add them to the list of companies that are pruning the ranks. What if yours is next? How you cope with a layoff can be a life changer – not only for your career but increasingly for your personal finances too. The steps you take when you are most vulnerable – that is, when you get the news and during the weeks or months following it – can play a huge role in the future. In various ways, they influence whether you must dip into savings and if so, how soon; your ability to find another job (and the speed with which ... Continue reading →
Shaun Egan/Getty Images When Jenna Goudreau, who is getting married in a few weeks, recently invited FORBES colleagues to share their best advice for the bride and groom (or couple) on their wedding day, several staffers fired back with one word: “Elope!” I heartily disagree. Next month, my husband and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and we both look back on the day we got married as the second happiest day of our lives. (The first was when our son was born, one day before our fifth anniversary.) We had a small wedding in the garden of my parents’ house. Our roughly 100 guests traveled from all over the country to be with us. I remember stepping into the garden and seeing all ... Continue reading →
Shaun Egan/Getty Images When Jenna Goudreau, who is getting married in a few weeks, recently invited FORBES colleagues to share their best advice for the bride and groom (or couple) on their wedding day, several staffers fired back with one word: “Elope!” I heartily disagree. Next month, my husband and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and we both look back on the day we got married as the second happiest day of our lives. (The first was when our son was born, one day before our fifth anniversary.) We had a small wedding in the garden of my parents’ house. Our roughly 100 guests traveled from all over the country to be with us. I remember stepping into the garden and seeing all ... Continue reading →
This is a guest post by Stephen Sheppard, who teaches at the University of Arkansas School of Law and is the editor of The Wolters Kluwer Bouvier Law Dictionary. When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg married his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan last week, a day after taking his company public, there was chatter about everything from the surprise element of the ceremony and what the bride and groom wore, to the motivation besides love that prompted this casual event. In her post, “Mark Zuckerberg Ties the Knot, But It Isn’t All Love And Roses,” FORBES Senior Editor Deborah L. Jacobs wrote, “Chances are they spent more time with lawyers and financial planners than with a wedding planner.” As she suggests, saying “I do” changes much more ... Continue reading →
This is a guest post by Ed Dempsey, CFP, Chief Investment Officer of Pension Partners. Twitter: @pensionpartners Financial advisors sometimes ask clients, “What’s keeping you up at night?” It’s a great conversation starter and a way to quickly find out what’s important to them. Sometimes I think clients should be asking us the same question. If they did, I would tell them that the thing that makes me most nervous about the global financial markets is whether the bond market is right about the future. Bond yields in the U.S., Germany and other “strong” countries are nearing all-time lows. What does that mean? Think of interest rate yields as the price of money. If yields are rising, it means demand for money is picking up. ... Continue reading →
Mark Zuckerberg married longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday, a day after taking Facebook public. The wedding was reportedly a surprise to most of the 100 guests, who were told they were going to a surprise graduation party for Chan; she graduated from University of California, San Francisco last week. The couple, have been dating for nine years, met while attending Harvard. True to form, the celebration was low key. The couple got married in the backyard of Zuckerberg’s Palo Alto home. Food came from their favorite local restaurants, People reports. Zuckerberg didn’t wear a hoodie, but didn’t wear a tux either. Also true to form, Zuckerberg, 28 and Chan, 27, announced their new status by updating their Facebook pages. Here’s one thing that we ... Continue reading →
Mark Zuckerberg married longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday, a day after taking Facebook public. The wedding was reportedly a surprise to most of the 100 guests, who were told they were going to a surprise graduation party for Chan; she graduated from University of California, San Francisco last week. The couple, have been dating for nine years, met while attending Harvard. True to form, the celebration was low key. The couple got married in the backyard of Zuckerberg’s Palo Alto home. Food came from their favorite local restaurants, People reports. Zuckerberg didn’t wear a hoodie, but didn’t wear a tux either. Also true to form, Zuckerberg, 28 and Chan, 27, announced their new status by updating their Facebook pages. Here’s one thing that we ... Continue reading →
Mark Zuckerberg married longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday, a day after taking Facebook public. The wedding was reportedly a surprise to most of the 100 guests, who were told they were going to a surprise graduation party for Chan; she graduated from University of California, San Francisco last week. The couple, have been dating for nine years, met while attending Harvard. True to form, the celebration was low key. The couple got married in the backyard of Zuckerberg’s Palo Alto home. Food came from their favorite local restaurants, People reports. Zuckerberg didn’t wear a hoodie, but didn’t wear a tux either. Also true to form, Zuckerberg, 28 and Chan, 27, announced their new status by updating their Facebook pages. Here’s one thing that we ... Continue reading →
