Sudden exit for WorldCom founder

WORLDCOM founder and chief executive Bernie Ebbers has suddenly quit the troubled American long-distance phone company. The ailing group's shares have crashed 83% this year alone amid fears about the $30bn (£21bn) of debt it has amassed in the 17 years since he created it by aggressively buying up 75 rival companies.

Ebbers, a flamboyant 60-year-old, is also at the heart of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission into $375m of loans he was given by the company. The cash was ostensibly to invest in WorldCom shares but much of it went on buying into forestry and timber companies. The SEC is also looking into accounting practices at WorldCom following the collapse of energy trader Enron.

Once described as the most feared man in telecoms, Ebbers has had $1.5bn wiped off his personal wealth in the past two years. He recently admitted: 'Maybe I wasn't the best financial planner.'

Ebbers was on a salary of $1m a year at WorldCom and in 2000 added $10m to that in cash bonuses. He was not paid a bonus last year. It was not mmediately clear whether he would receive a pay-off, nor what could happen to the 18m WorldCom shares he owns.

Replacement John Sidgmore, who ran the group's internet operations for four years, said WorldCom was now well placed to capitalise on the economic upturn. The shares peaked at more than $64 in 1999 but have recently traded just above $2.