The case of John Thain, CEO of Merrill Lynch, got a little more curious when it was announced that Thain told the board that neither he, nor his top four executives deserved a bonus for 2008. This followed an article in the Wall Street Journal that reported that Thain had suggested to the board that he deserved a $10 million bonus for 2008. That subjected him to a lot of criticism, from the likes of New York AG Andrew Cuomo, among others. This was a PR disaster in the making, and that's enough to get a guy, especially one who doesn't need the money, to change his mind. His reputation is worth more than $10 million, but there's probably more to the story.

For more:
- here's a Financial Times article

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