Was Jack Welch the Greatest C.E.O. of His Day—or the Worst?

Plus: how political violence came to the Pelosi house; predator-hunting stings; and the case of the upside-down Mondrian. View in browser | Update your preferences Wednesday, November 2, 2022 In today’s newsletter, a legendary C.E.O.’s legacy, and then: • How political violence came to the Pelosi house • The rise of predator-hunting stings • The case of the upside-down Mondrian Was Jack Welch the Greatest C.E.O. of His Day—or the Worst? As the head of General Electric, he fired people in vast numbers and turned the manufacturing behemoth into a financial house of cards. Why was he so revered? Illustration by Maxime Mouysset Jack Welch, the former C.E.O. of General Electric, was “a plainspoken, homespun dynamo—a pugnacious gnome with a large bald head and piercing eyes that made him as instantly recognizable as Elon Musk is today,” Malcolm Gladwell writes, in an entertaining and probing piece in this week’s issue. “He was called the greatest C.E.O. of the modern age,” Gladwell notes, but he was, by modern standards, a difficult leader: one who “seemed to enjoy firing people,” who “was most comfortable reducing anything of value to a transaction,” and who spent years exploiting a loophole in corporate finance to amass riches for the company—only to have his scheme come crashing down during the 2008 financial crisis. How have his words and actions endured as corporate legend? What wisdom—or folly—has he imparted? Consider this: in 1995, at the peak of his career, Welch suffered a devastating heart attack. He would end up living for nearly twenty-five more years, but at the time, death seemed imminent. A priest wanted to give him last rites; his doctor operated a second time. What, then, constituted the dying man’s thoughts? “Damn it, I didn’t spend enough money.” —Jessie Li, newsletter editor Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » 2022 Midterm Elections Ahead of Election Day, we’ll be featuring stories and exclusive insights from our reporters on the trail. The Political Scene How Political Violence Came to the Pelosi House The case of David DePape is not just a cautionary tale of right-wing conspiracies—it’s further evidence that the Republican Party has failed to police itself. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells From the News Desk Letter from the Southwest The Disturbing Rise of Amateur Predator-Hunting Stings How the search for men who prey on underage victims became a YouTube craze. By Rachel Monroe Q. & A. 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The French queen, who nowadays is both detested (for her excesses) and celebrated (also for her excesses), was born on this day in 1755, and is widely known for “a sentence she never uttered,” as Judith Thurman has written: “Let them eat cake.” 🍰 Today’s newsletter was written by Jessie Li. Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2022. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.