WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Robert Willumstad, former chief executive officer of the largest U.S. insurance company, left a $22 million paycheck sitting on the table, sources said.
Willumstad was ousted as CEO of American International Group when the regulators took over the collapsing firm last Wednesday. The deal included an $85 billion loan to the company, 79.9 percent of which the U.S. government now owns.
In response, Willumstad declined his severance package worth $22 million, ABC News reported Tuesday.
"I prefer not to receive severance payments while shareholders and employees have lost considerable value in their AIG shares," Willumstad reportedly wrote in an e-mail.
The $700 billion bailout plan under discussion in Washington may make it mandatory for other top executives to follow in Willumstad's footsteps.
Key lawmakers have been pushing for the bailout to include new guidelines on executive pay and bonuses.
"The very people who made the big mistakes … they're the reason we have to put this money in," said Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank, D-Mass.
"It certainly can't be a harsh thing to tell them they can't pay themselves as much as they used to," Frank said.
