"Would Elon Musk Work Harder for $1 Trillion Than $1 Billion?"

Would Elon Musk Work Harder for $1 Trillion Than $1 Billion?

Whether or not you believe Tesla should grant Elon Musk a trillion-dollar pay package if he hits shoot-the-moon goals over the next decade, the company’s proposal to shareholders is based on the idea that the greater the monetary reward, the greater the effort.

Of course, financial incentives are enormously powerful. But is their ability to motivate infinite? Would Mr. Musk not work as hard if he were offered, say, $100 billion or $1 billion? What about $1? […]

Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University, suggested a thought experiment: “Imagine a day in the life of Elon Musk, where he gets $1 trillion versus $1 billion. He wakes up and he does what differently? He drinks more coffee, he sleeps less, he sleeps more, he exercises less, he talks to people, he thinks harder. What exactly would he do?”

“At this level, I don’t see any way for them to do anything differently,” Mr. Ariely said of using additional financial incentives to get the ultrarich to work harder.

Charlie Javice co-defendant Olivier Amar sentenced to over 5 years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan

A former finance executive convicted of helping Charlie Javice defraud JPMorgan Chase into buying the college financial aid startup Frank for $175 million was sentenced on Wednesday to 68 months in prison.

Olivier Amar, who was Frank’s chief growth officer, was sentenced by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan.

Hellerstein also sentenced Javice to 85 months in prison on Sept. 29. She is expected to appeal her conviction.

Germany financial watchdog slaps record fine on JPMorgan of $52 million

Germany’s financial watchdog BaFin has imposed its largest-ever fine of 45 million euros ($52.5 million) on Frankfurt-based JPMorgan SE (JPM.N), opens new tab for deficiencies in money-laundering prevention.

BaFin said on Thursday that JPMorgan had “systematically” filed so-called suspicious activity reports late in the period from October 2021 though September 2022.

After The “Pause”: New Era Of FCPA Enforcement

When the DOJ issued the new FCPA Guidelines in June, the legal community speculated whether prosecutors and Department officials would interpret the guidance in a way that dramatically changed FCPA enforcement. The last sixth months, however, have demonstrated that not much has changed in FCPA practice, at least insofar as what has been disclosed to the public. Perhaps the similarities between pre-Guidelines and post-Guidelines enforcement cases come from the fact that FCPA investigations take multiple years. Recent actions were likely in motion pre-“pause” under a different set of guidance. Alternatively, perhaps the recent cases signal that the DOJ is interpreting the Guidelines as not really saying anything new. Time will tell whether the FCPA-landscape will shift under the current Administration.