When the Steinhoff story broke, I was shocked, but not really surprised.
Lots of people lost a lot of money. I also lost some, but not so much as some people I know of (and don't know of, but can only guess at). I can only imagine what they must go through, and how they must feel at this stage.
(photo via Google)
What drives men like Bernard Madoff, Arthur J Brown, and Markus Jooste? Were they born wicked, or did they see a gap, and decided to take it? The amount of money involved boggles the mind. Also the fact that they can carry on with the fraudulent schemes for such a long time before their card houses eventually come tumbling down. How DO they sleep at night? Surely they must have known that what they were doing was wrong, but either they reached the point of no return, or they couldn't really care less, as long as they could live the high life.
As I have sold my few shares, I have nothing more to lose. I could have bought a niftier laptop with the money, but I'm not devastated.
I'm inquisitive to know what role Messrs Deloitte played in this mess. Did they turn a blind eye, or not? Were they bribed? Surely, they should have known something was off?
That reminds me, I see Jim Collins wrote a book, "How the Mighty Fall, and Why Some Companies Never Give in." I think I'll go and buy this book as a Christmas gift to myself.
(image via Google)
It should be very interesting to read what he has to say about cases like this, and it would also be interesting to see how the Steinhoff mess is going to pan out. I will give a humble review of this book once I've finished reading it, as I'm sure there are a few golden nuggets to be found between the two covers.
Take care, and sleep well. I know I'm going to.