Richard_Grasso

Richard A. "Dick" Grasso (born July 26, 1946 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York) was chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2003. He started in 1968 when he was hired by the Exchange as a floor clerk.
He later became embroiled in controversies and lawsuits about his allegedly excessive pay package and $188.5 million golden parachute. The New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit which challenged the compensation as excessive for the NYSE, which at the time was a nonprofit. However, on July 1, 2008, the New York State Court of Appeals dismissed all claims against Grasso because the NYSE had changed its status from a nonprofit to a for-profit organization, which meant that the attorney general had lost standing to sue Grasso.