How Google protected and paid off Andy Rubin, iPhone knockoff artist, from sexual misconduct allegations

“Google gave Andy Rubin, the creator of Android mobile software, a hero’s farewell when he left the company in October 2014,” Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner report for The New York Times. “‘I want to wish Andy all the best with what’s next,’ Larry Page, Google’s chief executive then, said in a public statement.”
“What Google did not make public was that an employee had accused Mr. Rubin of sexual misconduct. The woman, with whom Mr. Rubin had been having an extramarital relationship, said he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013, according to two company executives with knowledge of the episode. Google investigated and concluded her claim was credible, said the people, who spoke on the condition that they not be named, citing confidentiality agreements. Mr. Rubin was notified, they said, and Mr. Page asked for his resignation,” Wakabayashi and Benner report. “Google could have fired Mr. Rubin and paid him little to nothing on the way out. Instead, the company handed him a $90 million exit package, paid in installments of about $2 million a month for four years, said two people with knowledge of the terms. The last payment is scheduled for next month.”
“Mr. Rubin was one of three executives that Google protected over the past decade after they were accused of sexual misconduct. In two instances, it ousted senior executives, but softened the blow by paying them millions of dollars as they departed, even though it had no legal obligation to do so,” Wakabayashi and Benner report. “In a third, the executive remained in a highly compensated post at the company. Each time Google stayed silent about the accusations against the men.”
“Mr. Rubin often berated subordinates as stupid or incompetent, they said. Google did little to curb that behavior. It took action only when security staff found bondage sex videos on Mr. Rubin’s work computer, said three former and current Google executives briefed on the incident. That year, the company docked his bonus, they said,” Wakabayashi and Benner report. “In a civil suit filed this month by Mr. Rubin’s ex-wife, Rie Rubin, she claimed he had multiple ‘ownership relationships’ with other women during their marriage, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to them. The couple were divorced in August. The suit included a screenshot of an August 2015 email Mr. Rubin sent to one woman. ‘You will be happy being taken care of,’ he wrote. ‘Being owned is kinda like you are my property, and I can loan you to other people.'”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Do know evil.
A company full to the brin, er… brim with cheaters obviously had/has no aversion to ripping off Apple’s iPhone.
We love you, Karma! You sometimes take your own sweet time, but you never fail in the end!
Andy Rubin is nothing more than a reactionary mimic, and not a very good one at that. – MacDailyNews, October 31, 2014
“Holy crap! I guess we’re not going to ship that phone.” – Google’s Android chief Andy Rubin, moments after Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone on January 9, 2007
Here’s what Google’s Android looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:

Here’s what cellphones looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:

SEE ALSO:
Google’s latest Android version tries to make Android phones more like Apple’s iPhone X – May 9, 2018
Andy Rubin takes leave from Essential as probe into ‘inappropriate’ Google relationship goes public – November 29, 2017
In colossal screw up, Essential shared customers’ driver’s licenses over email – August 30, 2017
Google’s flawed Android is essentially unfixable – May 2, 2016
Former Android head Andy Rubin leaving Google – October 31, 2014
Why Google really, truly, deeply hates Apple – May 30, 2014
Prior to Steve Jobs unveiling of Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android didn’t support touchscreen input – April 14, 2014
Before iPhone, Google’s plan was a Java button phone, Android docs reveal – April 14, 2014
How Google reacted when Steve Jobs revealed the revolutionary iPhone – December 19, 2013
Apple to ITC: Android started at Apple while Andy Rubin worked for us – September 2, 2011