Right on cue with what was expected, Elaine Wynn has fought back after being stripped of her board title at Wynn Resorts Ltd. After a nasty divorce in 2010 with husband and CEO of Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn, and a 2012 lawsuit looking to sue him, the board has decided there are simply too many conflicts of interest to keep her involved.
Many are wondering why she would even fight by nominating herself for the vacant board spot, which will be voted on by shareholders in April. She clearly does not need the money, with a net worth just shy of $2 billion. A woman, known as a philanthropist, who donates to several educational and medical causes.
In 2014, she was even the lowest-paid company board member, taking in $72,000, while former Governor Bob Miller topped the board by earning $506,209. “For me, board membership isn’t some professional title; it’s a labor of love to which I am whole-heartedly devoted and have the tenure to prove,” she wrote in a proxy statement.
“The company’s success has been one of my life’s main passions, and I bring that attitude to my role as a director each and every day,” she continued. She also feels with her removal, which would leave the board as an all-male panel, “it denies stockholders and meaningful diversity of thought.”
In addition, it would create an “appalling lack of diversity” that “diminishes the Wynn brand and sends the wrong kind of public message to our customers and stockholders.
She challenged the notion regarding conflicts of interest by saying, “there are none.”
