CEOs Say The Dumbest Things
Here's a list of top executives who exposed how self-absorbed, out-of-touch and wrong they can be.
Top executives are not always the smartest guys in the room.
They may have experience, education and extensive media training, but they can still be prone to saying really stupid things.
They have thousands of constituents, including board members, investors, employees and customers, so they need to be careful.
Some basic rules they should follow:
Don’t speak crassly
Don’t insult the customers
Don’t blame others for what are obviously your problems
Don’t pretend to know the future, because clearly you don’t
Here are the dumbest things business leaders have ever said
Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman – 2025
“That’s like one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. They're probably the least expensive employees you have.” – Explaining why artificial intelligence won’t replace entry level workers even as Amazon was laying off thousands of employees.
X owner Elon Musk – 2024
“Don't advertise. … If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. … Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.” – Running off advertisers after purchasing Twitter, now X.
Musk, of course, has said so many stupid things, they’re impossible to rank.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush – 2023
“You know, at some point, safety just is pure waste. I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything.''– Shortly before dying in an imploded submarine near the Titanic.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – 2021
“I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer, because you guys paid for all this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart very much.” – Infuriating critics and underpaid employees following his trip to space.
Fisher Investments CEO Ken Fisher – 2019
“Money, sex, those are the two most private things for most people. … It’s like … going up to a woman in a bar and saying, hey I want to talk about what’s in your pants.” – Describing how to approach potential clients, prompting hundreds of millions in withdrawals from his firm.
Papa John’s founder and CEO John Schnatter – 2018
“Colonel Sanders called blacks (N-Words) and Sanders never faced public backlash.” –Spilling the racial slur from his mouth like pizza sauce in a media training call of all places. Papa John’s stock cratered once these words hit the press. One word proved way too much reputational risk with Schnatter as the public face of the brand. He was forced to resign.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon – 2017
“There is no government that’s going to put up with it for long … There will be no currency that gets around government controls.” – Criticizing bitcoin and calling it a fraud.
BP CEO Tony Hayward – 2016
“The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.” – Minimizing the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.
Lululemon CEO Dennis “Chip” Wilson – 2013
“Quite frankly, some women's bodies just actually don't work … It's more really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it.” – Blaming overweight females for problems with his product.
Hancock Prospecting chairwoman Gina Rinehart – 2012
“Africans want to work and its workers are willing to work for less than $2 a day. Such statistics make me worry for this country's future.” – Expressing concerns for Australia’s economic competitiveness.
Acer CEO Stan Shih – 2012
“Apple is like a mutant virus, escaping from the traditional structure of the PC industry, but the industry will still eventually build up immunity, thus further blocking this trend, and we believe the size of the non-Apple camp will exceed Apple's, because this is how the industry normally evolves.” – Taking a cheap shot at a competitor in 2010.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes – 2010
“Is the Albanian army going to take over the world? I don’t think so.” – Comparing Netflix to an inconsequential military force.
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein – 2009
Just a banker “doing God’s work. – Defending the investment bank’s reputation and dodging responsibility for the 2008 financial crisis.
Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld – 2008
“When I find a short-seller, I want to tear his heart out and eat it before his eyes while he is still alive.” – Blaming traders shortly before his firm’s collapse under the weight of its risky debt portfolio.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer – 2007
“There’s no chance the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.” – Grossly underestimating a rival.
Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie – 2007
“It’s kind of one more entrant into an already very busy space with lots of choice for consumers… But in terms of a sort of a sea-change for BlackBerry, I would think that’s overstating it.” - Responding to the launch of Apple’s iPhone.
Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries – 2006
“Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive, all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.” – Sparking a predicable consumer backlash.
Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe – 2005
“The one opinion, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang on about declaring water a public right. That means that as a human being you should have a right to water. That’s an extreme solution.” - Advocating for responsible water management, but widely misunderstood as saying water is not a human right.
Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling – 2001
“Well, uh … Thank you very much. We appreciate it … asshole.” – Responding to a hedge fund manager’s question that presaged the energy giant’s collapse.
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey – 2000
“I like Mackey’s haircut. I think he looks cute!” – Pretending to be someone else while hyping his company on a Yahoo message board.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates – 1998
“What I can't figure out is why he (Steve Jobs) is even trying (to be the CEO of Apple)? He knows he can't win.” – Trash-talking Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Denver Post Editor Dennis Britton – 1990s
“The Internet is the CB radio of the 1990s.” - Ignoring technology with the rest of the newspaper industry.
Philip Morris CEO James Morgan – 1997
“If they are behaviorally addictive or habit forming, they are much more like caffeine, or in my case, gummy bears.” – Defending Big Tobacco.
Ratner Group CEO Gerald Ratner – 1991
“People say: How can you sell this for such a low price?’ I say: ‘Because it's total crap.’” – Sinking his jewelry empire.
Hotel and real estate magnate Leona Helmsley – 1989
“We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.’” – Discussing her financial secrets before she was convicted on tax evasion charges.
20th Century Fox co-founder Daryl Zanuck – 1946
“Television won’t be able to hold onto any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” – Blinding himself to change.
IBM President Thomas Watson – 1943
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers,” – Making one of the worst predictions in the history of computer technology.
Michigan Savings President George Peck – 1903
“The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad.” – Missing the boat and a great investment.
Western Union Telegraph Co. – 1870s
“What use could this company make of an electric toy?” – Passing on an option to buy Alexander Graham Bell’s patent for telephones.
Missing anything? This is a collection in progress. If you recall stupid things executives have said, please leave them in the comments section for future additions.
Take The Tour: The Business Blunders Hall of Shame
Great list. Right up there with "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."
Just goes to show, stupidity doesn't discriminate. 🙄