The former CEO of Anheuser-Busch CEO is August Adolphus Busch IV. A rather debonair man in his early-50s, he gets an annual compensation of 2.3 million just from the sale of the company plus his vast accumulated wealth and millions in stocks and bonds. While the CEO of Anheuser-Busch he presumably led a major effort to have Americans drink responsibly and safely. What happens when a CEO loses touch?
August Adolphus Busch IV was recently arrested in Missouri after he attempted to fly his private helicopter while allegedly drunk and/or under the influence. Calls first went into the FAA around 
lunchtime as a helicopter was buzzing the neighborhood, but he managed to elude the authorities at that time.
He was finally arrested near a business, presumably a strip mall, around 8:15 p.m. at night. His helicopter was in a parking lot, but he was allegedly too drunk to take off. In fact, the police were notified at that time because a neighbor had observed him weaving around the parking lot looking anxious and disoriented.
He had a passenger, a woman who claimed to be his wife! The police found more than they had bargained upon their search for as inside the helicopter were eight dogs, prescription drugs, and several loaded firearms.
Busch was taken off the helicopter and brought to a local hospital for blood, urine and breath samples. The police officers conducted field sobriety tests. Although the breath test did not register alcohol, the former CEO was unable to follow the directions the police gave him and could not pass all of the field sobriety test steps. He apparently mumbled and slurred his speech.
According to the police, he may have been under the influence of prescription drugs rather than alcohol. Naturally, he was not permitted to fly the aircraft. Amazingly, Busch is a pilot who holds multiple licenses. He should have known better. Then again, he has a history of “should have known better.”
Though Busch claimed he had a conceal carry license (one of the guns was in his front trouser pocket) what makes the arrest even more alarming is that police said the weapon was “hot,” meaning it had been discharged. It indicates that while flying under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Busch was firing his weapon – and at what, we don’t know. He was not arrested but that could quickly change when the results of blood and urine tests become known.
This is hardly his first brush with the law. He has been previously arrested for drug and alcohol abuse, pulling a handgun on a motorist and implicated in the overdose and death of a woman. He has escaped severe legal penalties over and over again. Money can do that.
What was the company thinking?
August Adolphus Busch IV was the last in a long line. The company was the “victim” of a hostile takeover and is no longer in the family. Behind the beautiful Clydesdales and the lush commercials extolling American virtues and values, appears the image of a former CEO who is deeply disturbed and has been enabled over and again, by friends and family members.
August Adolphus Busch IV is far removed from reality – and maybe that removal was partially responsible for the takeover of his company. Anheuser-Busch is a publicly-traded company. It causes me to wonder from an ethical point of view. Consulting across the country as I do, I am certainly not naïve as to the inner workings of many organizations. The behavior of executives who have been publicly shamed in this manner is usually just a fraction of what occurs in private.
Every choice has a consequence. That foundational element does not change. Though the Busch family has given millions to charity and therefore August Adolphus Busch IV was seemingly immune from scrutiny, as “his” company is no longer his, the bloom might be coming off of the rose. He is slowly losing his safety net.
I shudder to think what might have happened had the helicopter crashed into a public area – he had no such concerns. I wonder why, despite the controlling interests inside the company, he was allowed to function without more intense scrutiny. His life was one without much in the way of restriction or responsibility. He lost touch. Despite all of the “Drink Responsibly” advertising, he was a victim of his own abuse. Consequences will come as they always do. It is a guarantee. What happens when a CEO loses touch?
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