Silicon Valley Tech Execs Behaving Badly

Acts of arrogance are a time-honored tradition among the Silicon Valley digerati. Tech billionaires and power-crazed chief executives live in their own worlds in which codes of social conduct — even some laws – don’t apply. Or, at least, these execs don’t think they do. It seems almost every day some news breaks about a tech titan acting in a way that leave us shaking our heads. Here is a list of a dozen doozies.

(Want more? Check out “10 Dumbest Things Tech CEOs Have Said and Done,” and see where Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Meg Whitman, Mark Zuckerberg and others have slipped up.)

Billionaire Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla bought prime California beachfront property for $37.5 million and closed the only road to the popular Martins Beach. Surfers and beachgoers filed a lawsuit claiming Khosla was violating the California Coastal Act. In what can only be called hubris, Khosla defiantly evaded questions on the stand while his lawyers argued he has a right to keep trespassers away. Then Khosla’s property manager said it was his decision alone to block access. The case is pending.

Last August, Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia allegedly caused a crash on Highway 101, which resulted in injuries to a woman, and then fled the scene, reports SFGate. Witnesses took down his license plate number, and the police arrived at his home. He faced felony hit-and-run charges (which were later reduced to a misdemeanor) and a civil lawsuit. Tolia told police he fled because he was “shaken” and hadn’t called 911 because he was in shock, according to the complaint. Ironically, Nextdoor is a social network designed to improve communication between residents and police.

No list of misbehaving tech CEOs would be complete without a mention of John McAfee, founder of McAfee Associates. After losing millions of dollars in the market crash, McAfee relocated to South America where he quickly ended up on the wrong side of the law. He evaded police in Belize, spent time in a Guatemalan jail and now lives in Canada. His story has all the makings of a Hollywood movie.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling isn’t a tech titan, nor does he live in Silicon Valley. But, in a way, Sterling inspired this list, so he deserves a dishonorable mention. Sterling’s privately recorded racist views, tinged with feelings of wealth-fed superiority and entitlement, brought the image of the arrogant mogul back into the national spotlight. His unapologetic apology bashing basketball star Magic Johnson is classic egotism.