Bezos isn’t the only CEO that has fought extortion plots
In a stunning blog post released on Thursday, Amazon CEO and billionaire Jeff Bezos alleged that “top people” at the National Enquirer tried to extort and blackmail him by threatening to publish nude photos of him and Lauran Sanchez, a former TV host with whom Bezos has been reportedly romantically linked too.
Bezos wrote that instead of falling prey to extortion and blackmail, he has decided to publish the details of the emails that they sent me, despite of the personal cost and embarrassment that they threaten to reveal.
The post included email alleged from top executives at National Enquirer publisher America Media Inc.
On Friday, American Media said in a statement that the allegations are under investigation and the “Board will take whatever appropriate action is necessary.”
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But Bezos isn’t the only CEO who has fought against extortion plots in recent years.
Here’s a list of others who have done so in the past.
Former Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers
April 2018
Former Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers was forced to head to court after his housekeeper tried to extort millions from him after she recorded them having several sexual encounters. Rogers said the affair was consensual, while his housekeeper testified that she feared she would lose her job, if she refused his advances. The charges that she made an illegal sex tape were later dismissed by a judge.
ESPN President John Skipper
December 2017
After five years at the helm, ESPN president John Skipper announced he is resigning after getting roped into a cocaine extortion plot.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Skipper said that the person who he bought cocaine from tried to extort money from him, which prompted his abrupt exit.
“They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well. I foreclosed that possibility by disclosing the details to my family, and then when I discussed it with Bob, he and I agreed that I had placed the company in an untenable position and as a result, I should resign,” Skipper told the outlet in an interview last March.
Michael Bloomberg
February 2003
Billionaire and founder of Bloomberg LP Michael Bloomberg testified in 2003 that three years ago, he got an e-mail message from someone who had apparently broken into his work computer and got access to his private e-mails. The hacker offered to fix the security gaps for an undisclosed amount.
Bloomberg said that the hacker clearly had access to “things that he should not have had” and it “sounded to him like he was trying to extort money” from him. Bloomberg immediately contacted the F.B.I. and later set up a sting with the agency to catch the hackers, which were later arrested and charged.