Former director of the New York Stock Exchange Ken Langone spoke to FOX Business Network’s Liz Claman about the government’s involvement in businesses and executive pay, saying that “the government’s got no place in business—none.”
Here are a few excerpts from his interview: Courtesy of Fox Business News:
On the government’s control over businesses who took TARP:
“The government’s got no place in business—none.”
“Had the government said ‘if you take this money we have a right to control everything in your company, including who you pay and how much you pay them, and we can fire them’… if that’s the price you pay and you accept it, then you live by those rules.”
On the government limiting executive pay:
“I think it’s fundamentally against the government’s best interest, and by government I mean us, the taxpayers, to put a limit—an arbitrary limit—on how much somebody can be paid, some foolish amount of money.”
“You want the very best people to run companies, and if the very best person thinks he’s worth a lot of money and he gets the job done, pay it to him.”
On AIG CEO Robert Benmosche:
“Benmosche is one of the best managers…This is not about him—this is about his ability to attract and retain talent. Getting people is one thing. Keeping them is something else.
