The hope four years ago was that by now he would be reaping the peace dividends of extracting America from Iraq and withdrawing from Afghanistan, even if the mission was far from complete, so he could turn to what during the campaign he frequently characterized as "some nation-building at home".
Through stock buyback programs and dividends, they have extracted billions out of a company that in return cut costs by shifting workers' jobs abroad.
Instead, in exchange for a promised backstop of up to $200 billion, the government extracted preferred shares carrying a dividend of 10%, plus almost 80% of common stock.
Over those five years, £1.8bn was extracted in dividends – some handed to shareholders, some used to repay loans.
Under Green's stewardship, more than £586m was extracted in dividends, rental payments and interest on loans by the Green family and other shareholders, including The Ivy restaurant owner, Richard Caring.
Since it invested in F1 in 2006 CVC has extracted $4.4bn from dividends and the sale of stakes in Delta Topco.
Instead, the regulator may face years of court battles if it judges Green, whose family extracted £400m in dividends from BHS in happier days, ducked his duties.
In fairness, this was years before Green sold BHS for £1, to a twice-bankrupted entrepreneur with no retail experience, Green's family having previously extracted £580m in dividends, etc, pre-departure.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, the head of Aditya Birla group, insists that Novelis has done shareholders proud and notes that his group extracted a $1.7 billion dividend from the aluminium firm last year, paid for, private-equity style, with debt.
In countries where minority shareholders have good legal protection and strong rights, they do just what we would expect: They extract dividend payments.
