Four

So, Nardelli got sacked at HD while doubling revenues and profits. And he got paid a couple of hundred mil to take a powder. It's not like the money is coming from unsuspecting boobs who have it deducted from their paychecks, like federal income tax or union dues. The money is coming from the shareholders of HD. Last time I checked, no one was forced at gunpoint to buy shares of HD.

If you want to look at a CEO who really desrives the axe, check out Ed Zander at Motorola. Zander took over a few years ago after the prior CEO, Chris Galvin, mismanaged what he thought was his family inheiritance. Actually, this entire compmany should be carved up like the Christmas turkey it really is. Since the dotcom bubble, MOT has tanked and never even started a comeback, despite having technology and IP assets second to none. It just goes to show that being smart is not necessarily a ticket to profit and success. MOT has displayed a kind of corporate arroagnce over the years which only an American company could develop. But for MOT's corporate idiocy, Nokia would not exist today. On top of all of MOT's other obvious assets, it has a board member (Negroponte) who operates at all of the highest levels of government. If you can't land a few fat contracts when you have relationships like that, your company deserves to be toast.