@1xzu this whole glorifying of the shareholder is a recent invention and it started in the 1990s. Prior to that, the country was #1, shareholders were not imprtant when it came beating communists etc. if you look at 1950s, 1960s, the worker was #1 - we were unionized across the board, wages were rising, etc. i am not saying we have to make it this way but i am just underlining that this whole #shareholder mantra is not as old as some think it is.
there are many "STAKEHOLDERS" that are in the game - the shareholder would not be able to invest if there is no country and system, society. our company would not exist if we did not have customers and clients. we'd stop working if vendors were to bail on on us. and, NOTHING will be dome if there was no WORKERS.
so, yeah, shareholders are important but all other stakeholders are equally important. the worker is getting the shaft here but the worker will wake up at some point or the system will collapse (you cannot screw the worker indefinitely)...
all what you need to do is to see how things are organized in europe and some asian countries and you'll realize that it's not all about shareholders. if you ask me, the country should be number one - if we do not take care of america we are hosed, everything collapses - and you cannot take care of america if you screw 85% of the population every-time you get a chance.
All shareholders come first with any company. shareholders are the owners of the company. the main job of a ceo is to maximize shareholder wealth because they will lose their jobs if they don't. its always been that way. its not right or moral but since when has our country been right or believed in Morales.