Three chief executives who made millions and were leading citizens now find themselves out of work and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Yesterday John J. Rigas, whose debt is well above a billion dollars, was forced to step down as chief executive of Adelphia Communications. Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom was forced out last month and has five years to repay over $400M. WorldCom's share value is now down 98% from its peak. Stephen Hilbert of Conseco was ousted in the spring of 2000. At least theoretically, all these executives should face a debt crisis as a result of the loans. But none have yet suffered by being forced to come up with the cash or file for bankruptcy, and some doubt they ever will be. 3 Ex-Chiefs Discover Perils of Borrowing and Believing |