McDonald's CEO Charlie Bell Dies From 'McDonald's' Diet
/Charlie Bell, former CEO of McDonalds Restaurant chain, died from
colorectal cancer at age 44. He is the second CEO to die in a row from
preventable disease caused by the type of diet that the fast-food chain
peddles. Former CEO Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack in April of
2004. Bell was from Australia and last month McDonald's spent
$300,000 to fly Bell and his family back to Australia on a private
medically equipped jet, paid for shipping their belongings, bought the
Bells' Illinois home and agreed to pay any tax bills related to the
benefits. The company also amended a stock options agreement with Bell,
enabling him to transfer 1.44 million stock options to his wife and
allowed 655,000 of those options to vest immediately. The lavish
treatment of its executives is in stark contrast to its treatment of
its workers, most of whom get no benefits and only minimum wage.McDonalds has a long history of enriching i's executives on the backs
of its workers. In 1972 McDonalds founder, Ray Kroc, funneled $250,000
to Richard M. Nixon in exchange for a 20% reduction in the minimum wage
for teenagers.Even though McDonalds sells food which is
unhealthy and of low quality, it is the largest restaurant in the
world. [more]
