John A. Thain, 53
Position: Current CEO, Merrill Lynch
Income: $83.1 MM
Family Status: Married
Location: Rye, NY

How He Was Bailed: Thain topped all corporate bank bosses with $83 million in earnings last year. Thain, a former chief operating officer for Goldman Sachs, took the reins of the company in December 2007, avoiding the blame for a year in which Merrill lost $7.8 billion. Since he began work late in the year, he earned $57,692 in salary, a $15 million signing bonus and an additional $68 million in stock options.

Click here for a full report. ALSO, find out about how the failure of Merrill Lynch was blamed on their former CEO, African-American Stanley O’Neal.

VS.

Forest V. Brannon, 78
Position: Disabled veteran & former postal worker
Family Status: Married
Income: Disability checks
Location: Dallas, Texas

How He Was Failed: Mr. Brannon, a 78-year-old veteran, is running out of time to save his home after he got behind on his monthly payments, which almost doubled in recent months, from $379 to $700, because of a sub prime, adjustable-rate mortgage. The interest rates reset to much higher after 2-3 years and left him with a payment he couldn’t afford. Mr. Brannon said his finances were imperiled further when he and his wife had to spend more money on health care, including a $3,000 bill for dental work. He got behind on his mortgage, then received a notice his home would be sold about a month ago.

Click here for the full report.

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