Businessman Kevin O'Leary has issued a warning to CEOs following the public reaction to Luigi Mangione's murder charge.
The investor who appears on Shark Tank told CNN on Wednesday that instead of beefing up their personal security, CEOs need to "read the room."
These statements were made after 26-year-old Mangione was charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in New York City on December 4. Mangione, who is yet to face trial, has been met with support and empathy from some members of the public who say they understand how someone's anger at the healthcare system could lead them to extreme violence.
Chris Pierson, CEO of the security firm BlackCloak, told Newsweek previously: "When people get angry at a company or industry, they tend to take it out on the most high-profile figure, which is usually the CEO. This attack should be a wake-up call to C-suites and boardrooms everywhere. Now is the time for them to prioritize their physical and digital safety."
O'Leary expressed his disagreement with this sentiment while on CNN, telling host Wolf Blitzer: "If you're an executive saying, 'get me more security guards,' wrong answer. That's just wrong."
The Canadian investor added: "They should be coming out now saying, 'Look, we get it, we have families too, we're people, we have children, we care about what you think about, and we're going to automate this process and make it better.'
"But putting a fence around headquarters, hiring more security guards, that's all bad imagery, Wolf. It's all bad. And it's not the right answer."
Newsweek readers have expressed similar sentiments to O'Leary, with one reader commenting: "I wish that as much time and energy spent in catching this guy could be spent investigating how health insurers get away with 'deny, delay, depose'."
Another reader said: "If CEOs would prioritize people and society over profits, this would never be a problem. Frankly, I have been surprised for decades that a lot more of this doesn't go on.
"I have no idea how Thompson acted, and I'm sorry for his family, but for sure there are plenty of people out there who make ripping off as much money as they possibly can from individuals and the 'public' their primary goal and will cause all sorts of damage, blithely uncaring who they hurt, to get more, MORE!"
Criminal Justice Professor Raymond Surette at the University of Central Florida spoke to Newsweek about whether vitriol online could lead to more violence: "This is certainly a concern as there's some research that suggests that more coverage and attention increase the likelihood of copycats.
"I've come to the conclusion that media influence crime by being a rudder for crime (shaping it) more than a trigger (causing it). Thus, the attention won't likely criminalize anyone but for the pre-disposed the motivation and technique for copying the crime is there."
O'Leary told Blitzer that he currently sees social media as the jury in Mangione's case. Professor Surette told Newsweek: "In a perfect world there should be none but a trial judge will have their hands full assembling a jury and keeping social media information from leaking into the jury box."
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