Dumbest moments in business

When Robert Benmosche took the helm at AIG (AIG) in 2009, he already had a reputation for arrogance and aggression. But Benmosche reached a whole new level in September, when he compared criticisms of Wall Street bonuses to mob lynchings.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said the uproar "was intended to stir public anger, to get everybody out there with their pitch forks and their hangman nooses ... sort of like what we did in the Deep South [decades ago]. And I think it was just as bad and just as wrong."

Right.

Benmosche later said it was "a poor choice of words," but he didn't apologize until Rep. Elijah Cummings called for his resignation.

It wasn't Benmosche's first outrageous comment. In fact, in 2009, we said he was "the most tone-deaf CEO" for calling Congress a bunch of "crazies" and telling them to "stick it where the sun don't shine."

That was mere months after the troubled insurer received a $152 billion government bailout package. Let's just hope he never needs another lifeline. - A.R.