10 Biggest Socially Irresponsible Companies In America

While the desire to increase profits does not necessarily mean a company has to cross an ethical line, it appears that many of the corporations on this list might have taken the desire to profit above all else too far, earning them the ire of consumers, environmentalists, and other global social watchdogs. It’s somewhat surprising that companies would even risk being socially irresponsible and ruining their reputation among the public given the importance it can play in their success, and their own knowledge of that. Of the CEOs surveyed by Burson-Marsteller, 95% believed that their corporate reputation was important or very important to the company achieving its goals. Insidermonkey experts did a research and made a list of 10 biggest socially irresponsible companies in America.

We have picked three companies from their list. One is Volkswagen AG. In 2015, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency slapped the automotive giant with an emission violation notice that resulted in one of the biggest scandals involving major corporate fraud. The agency found that Volkswagen AG rigged its vehicles to pass emission tests, forcing the brand to pay about $20 million in fines and legal fees in the U.S alone. Then-CEO Martin Winterkorn had to step down amid the scandal, while several Volkswagen executives were suspended. The second one is American International Group Inc. A key figure in the 2008 financial crisis, American International Group Inc makes it to our list with its highly-questioned bailout deal amounting to $182 billion. After less than a decade since the financial crisis hit the world’s top financial institutions, many are still raising questions about the controversial deal between the insurer and the Federal Reserve. You can also check our list of 10 biggest socially responsible companies in America.