JP Morgan uses bailout money to purchase two luxury jets!
NEW YORK - March 23, 2009 - Public relations doesn't appear to be the financial sector's forte these days.
JP Morgan Chase, fresh from a $25 billion government bailout, is purportedly moving forward with the purchase of two luxury corporate jets with a $120 million pricetag, along with an $18 million renovation at Westchester Airport outside New York City.
The two jets are Gulfstream 650 planes billed as the “fastest, widest and most comfortable private jet ever with superior cabin amenities, an optional stateroom, and 12 interior designs to choose from," according to ABC News, which revealed the purchase.
A public hearing on the jets and the hangar expansion will be held tonight by local officials.
The hangar expansion includes a "vegetated roof garden," reclaimed wood and quarry tile, part of an effort to "greenify" the airport's facility.
"It's a remarkably boneheaded decision," corporate watchdog Nell Minnow, the editor and founder of The Corporate Library, told ABC. "It's completely tone deaf."