The mighty fell in 2018, from Manafort to Moonves

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If you savor schadenfreude, 2018 was your year.

Technology stocks that used to only go up plunged by double digits. CEOs who once seemed bulletproof got the boot, and lost millions of dollars. And political tough guys accustomed to pushing people around are now headed for prison—which might portend even more dramatic downfalls in 2019.

Let’s run through a short list of the 2018 downfallen:

Facebook was more like Faceplant in 2018—and its wipeout was largely self-induced. After the 2016 elections, CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously said it was “crazy” to think Russian operatives or other manipulators could have used Facebook to influenced the presidential election outcome. But now, multiple investigations have shown Russian propagandists operated thousands of accounts on Facebook and other social-media sites, most of them supporting Donald Trump’s candidacy and attacking Hillary Clinton’s. Among other things, those efforts tried to discourage blacks and Hispanics—who would have tilted toward Clinton—from voting.

Two things are dismaying about Facebook’s unwitting role in voter suppression. First, the company had no idea what was happening on its platform, despite its supposed mastery of data. Second, top leaders including Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg have been defensive and tin-eared about objections to their exploitation of user data. Facebook stock is down 20% for the year and 34% from its July peak, and may not recover for years.

Some ‘splainin’ to do. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress in April. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Some ‘splainin’ to do. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress in April. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Other tech high-flyers swooned this year, including Apple (down 4% for the year), Google parent Alphabet (down 2%), Nvidia (down 26%) and Intel (down 5%). Some of these declines reflect a new reckoning about the ways tech companies exploit the personal data of their users and customers. Big Tech has also shown it can get on the wrong side of consumer trends. Most of these companies will recover, but the aura of invincibility is gone.

Leslie Moonves, the former CEO of CBS, was once considered a media titan vital to CBS empire as it fought a control battle with the Redstone family. Now he’s out, following allegations of sexual misconduct and retribution against women who spurned his advances. CBS recently said it will deny a $120 million severance payment Moonves’s contract called for, since he violated company policy while trying to cover up his misdeeds.

Party’s over Former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves (AP Photo)
Party’s over Former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves (AP Photo)

Carlos Ghosn was the globe-hopping chairman of the Nissan Renault automotive alliance—until he was thrown in jail in November for alleged financial improprieties.

Steve Wynn was a casino magnate whose name was plastered all over Las Vegas and other gambling meccas—until the Wall Street Journal uncovered a history of sexual abuse against company employees, and others. Wynn left his namesake company in February as accusations snowballed.