William Esrey
 William Esrey     (businessman) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1940 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Swarthmore College, Denison University, Harvard Business School |
| Member of | Trilateral Commission |
William T. Esrey was CEO of Sprint Corporation. He was a member of the Trilateral Commission.
He was Chairman of The Business Council from 2001 to 2002.[1]
Biography
Esrey attended Swarthmore College in 1957, Denison University in 1961, and graduated from Harvard Business School in 1964.
Esrey began his career in telecommunications in 1964 with AT&T. After becoming the youngest executive officer in the history of the company, Esrey left in 1970, joining investment banking firm Dillon, Read & Co. in New York City where after one year he became a managing director.[2]
In 1980, Esrey joined United Telecommunications as the executive vice president of corporate planning. In 1982, he became president of United Telecom Communications Inc., later named US Telecom. In 1985, Esrey was made president and CEO of United Telecommunications. In 1990, he became chairman of the company, which had now changed its name to Sprint.
During his time in charge of Sprint, the company developed from a rural telephone company into a multibillion-dollar international corporation.IT built the nation’s first all-digital fiber-optic network. In 1994 Sprint partnered with several cable companies to build the first nationwide wireless personal communications network[3]. In 1997, Bill was named one of the top 25 business executives in the world by Business Week.
Esrey served as Chairman of the Board for Sprint and United Telecom from 1990 to May 2003. He received many honors and awards and Business Week named him one of the top 25 business leaders in the world .In 1999, the board agreed to a merger with WorldCom, which failed due to antitrust concerns.[4]
Tax Dodging
During his time as CEO and Chairman with Sprint, Esrey was paid an average of $25.5million per annum, including cash, bonuses and stock options. Most of this "income" was in stock options he did not managage to realized due to the tech crash in 2000.[4] Esrey earned a 'seven figures' salary, with annual bonuses ranging from $220,000 to $1.38 million.
It was at this point that the accounting firm Ernst & Young, Sprint's auditors, offered Esrey and Sprint COO Ron LeMay a scheme whereby the income taxes on their stock-option profits disappear for 30 years. Esrey and LeMay handed Ernst & Young $5.8 million to set up a tax shelter for their option income. But the tax shelter was not legal according to the IRS. Esrey and LeMay found they could owe over $100 million in taxes.
Sprint asked Esrey and LeMay to resign, releasing LeMay with just $190,400 in severance each month for the next eighteen months, and consulting fees that brought his total exit package to $5.8 million. Sprint formally announced Esrey's departure with a package worth at least $10.5 million.
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1989 | 12 May 1989 | 14 May 1989 | Spain Galicia La Toja Island | 37th Bilderberg meeting, 110 guests |
| Bilderberg/1990 | 10 May 1990 | 13 May 1990 | New York US Glen Cove | 38th Bilderberg meeting, 119 guests |
| Bilderberg/1992 | 21 May 1992 | 24 May 1992 | France Royal Club Evian Evian-les-Bains | The 40th Bilderberg. It had 121 participants. |
