Waxman, though, faulted Fuld for not acknowledging anything he’d done wrong. He also tallied Fuld’s compensation from 2000 to 2007 at $484.5 billion, and noted that Lehman’s shareholders have lost their investment and the economy has been plunged into chaos.
“Is this fair?” Waxman asked.
Fuld took off his glasses and shifted in his seat. He said he wasn’t paid that much, and he and Waxman eventually agreed he’d been paid $350 million. But he never answered Waxman’s question of fairness.
In his prepared testimony, Fuld said the financial crisis was greater than any single firm.
“As incredibly painful as this is for all of those connected to or affected by Lehman Brothers — this financial tsunami is much bigger than any one firm or industry,” Fuld said.
Fuld resisted efforts by Republicans to tie Lehman’s bankruptcy to Fannie Mae.
When Mica asked what Lehman’s financial exposure was to the mortgage buyer, Fuld demurred. “De minimis,” he said.
Mica then held up Lehman’s contributions and lobbying expenditures of $300,000 over 10 years, and said Fannie Mae spent $175 million during the same time.
“You were out-lobbied,” Mica said. “What would you say to that?”
Fuld again held back, saying, “I think that’s more a matter for your committee.”
He also bucked Democrats’ attempts to see if he’d say that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s ties to Lehman rival Goldman Sachs biased him against bailing out Lehman and helping Goldman trading partner AIG.
But he did make it clear that he still didn’t understand why the federal government bailed out other companies, but not his.
“Until the day they put me in the ground, I will wonder,” Fuld said. “I do not know why we were the only one.”
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