7. John Browne of BP

Giving away company money, and lying about it.

John Browne's personal life this summer seemed a bit unfair, indiscretions revolving around his love affair with Jeff Chevalier made the C.E.O. a legitimate target for criticism. Browne's biggest woes included perjury charges, accusations of misused company funds, and allegations that he had been sharing sensitive BP corporate information with Chevalier. He stepped down in May after a British court ruled that a London newspaper could publish details of his private life.

8. James Cayne of Bear Stearns

Fiddling while the firm burned.

The impending collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds was not enough to keep its chief from being spotted on the golf course and in bridge tournaments this summer. In the midst of the bank's critical turmoil in July, it looked like James Cayne was more interested in lowering his handicap than helping avert a credit crisis in global financial markets.

9. Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone

Throwing a party only Kozlowski could love.

In February, while preparing Blackstone Group for its I.P.O., Steve Schwarzman threw a $3 million birthday party for himself in New York—a tycoon's equivalent of blowing a raspberry in the faces of all those people complaining about excessive executive compensation. About 500 of Schwarzman's closest friends sipped champagne and toasted the mogul's 60th, and probably were not thinking about the little people while they were at it.

10. David Neeleman of JetBlue

Overstaying his welcome at the airline he founded.

David Neeleman learned the hard way that he's more of a big idea guy than a detail guy: details like making sure planes land and take off when they're supposed to. Last Valentines Day JetBlue experienced an utter meltdown, with the airline operationally crippled by a winter storm and more than 1,000 flights cancelled over a six day period. After scrambling to regain customer trust—and losing millions of dollars in the process—Neeleman handed over the C.E.O. keys to Dave Barger, then the chief operating officer at the airline.

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