The killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is stirring hostility from some toward CEOs

More “Wanted” signs featuring corporate executives POSTED in Manhattan this week included a dire warning, according to a New York Police Department bulletin. “Brian Thompson’s claim to life was denied. Who will be denied next?” the signs said.

The threats of violence against the CEOs followed an outpouring of criticism on social media of corporate leaders following killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson. Many online praised Luigi Mangionethe murder suspect, who attacked large corporations in writing found by the police.

The outpouring of sympathy for Mangione and hostility toward CEOs has fueled debate about how a group of Americans had come to encourage, or at least accept, the wishes of violence hurled at corporate executives.

Some experts who spoke to ABC News attributed the anti-corporate outcry to a number of overlapping trends: rising wealth inequality and the perception of an economy rigged against ordinary people, heated rhetoric fueled by social media and populist politics that blame the elites.

“People feel that the system is just not built to favor ordinary people. That’s at the root of a lot of the macabre response we’ve seen to this shooting,” Chris Jackson, senior vice president of public affairs for Ipsos in the US, told ABC News.

Other experts, however, said criticism from a small but outspoken minority risks exaggerating the level of dissatisfaction with chief executives.

“Despite a vocal edge, most Americans continue to admire businesses and their leaders as vital forces of innovation, prosperity and stability,” wrote Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a management professor at Yale University who regularly convenes CEO meetings. of the nation, he wrote in the publication. executive director.

Mangione was custody by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday on gun charges before being charged in New York with murder. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania and fought extradition to New York.

The online response to the crime has come at a time of deep mistrust about what drives economic outcomes, polls show. More than two-thirds of Americans believe the nation’s economy is rigged to favor the rich and powerful, a plaster last year’s survey found.

That perception of unfairness has coincided with a rise in anti-corporate attitudes among members of both major parties, according to a 2022 report. pew study. Only 1 in 4 adults believed that big business had a positive effect on the way things were done in the country, down from 36% just three years earlier, the survey found.

“There is growing resentment and anger at the top level of corporate management,” Daniel Kinderman, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, told ABC News.

Such mistrust, Kinderman said, is partly due to great economic inequality. The richest 10 percent of American families control about 60 percent of the nation’s wealth, an October Congressional Budget Office report found.

“A lot of people work hard but get nowhere,” Kinderman said. “There is a sense that the system is broken.”

Some experts, however, have challenged explanations of anti-CEO sentiment that attribute the phenomenon primarily to the economic outlook of individuals.

Sonnenfeld said the hostility is due to populists on both ends of the political spectrum who are pandering to corporate America.

“This unholy alliance between the far left and the far right seems to believe that business cannot succeed without doing something unethical or hurting others,” Sonnenfeld wrote in the press release. executive director.

Much of the vitriol has targeted the health care industry, which hurts consumers more than corporations in general, CNBC founder Tom Rogers told ABC News.

“I don’t really see another industry where the depth of disapproval and disgust that people have is nearly as motivating in terms of ill will toward the CEO,” Rogers said.

Social media has also drawn blame from experts, who faulted algorithms they said often reward provocative posts with greater engagement and wider reach. The viral online posts listed the names and salaries of several health insurance executives, the NYPD said in its bulletin this week.

Robert Pape, a political science professor at the University of Chicago who studies political violence, acknowledged the role of social media, but said focusing on any one factor risks overlooking the contribution of others, including economic frustration and populist politics.

“It’s really an interwoven cocktail,” Pape said.

The Pope pointed to recent bouts of political violence that, in his view, have loosened a long-standing taboo against it: the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021; attacking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, in 2022; and a pair of assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.

“Political violence has become normal,” Pape said. “We’re on a slippery slope.”