You'll get $100 billion if you put 100,000 employees out of work?

Question

Hypothetical situation: Call it a massive downsizing, you're a CEO who is about to cash out on his stock options. By doing so, 100,000 employees stand to lose their jobs, but you will gain $100 billion in cash.

If you do not sell your shares, by the next day they would have lost their value - you get $0, but your employees can continue working, albeit under a different company owner.

Lets assume that there will be no legal repercussions for the trade.

Will you cash out? Or remain loyal to your workers but lose your entire fortune?

Answer 1

Sell out, sorry.. but its sink or swim.

Answer 2

What the h**l would I do with $100 billion?  I wouldn't have any idea what to do with $10 million.

Nah, wouldn't do it.  I wouldn't lay people off for my own financial benefit.  That's a lot of people who are going to be scrambling to pay basic bills for who knows how long just so I can have whatever it is that people with $100 billion have.  It would be a disgusting thing to do.

Of course, this attitude means that it's unlikely that I'll ever be a CEO, so I guess it's pretty irrelevant what I would do.

Answer 3

I thought for a second, I'd just let them keep working.  I'm greedy but not a jerk.

But then I thought, if I was guaranteed that money, why not immediately start a new business and attempt to hire as many of those people back as possible?