Parents' Guide to Fugitive: The Curious Case of Carlos Ghosn

FUGITIVE: THE CURIOUS CASE OF CARLOS GHOSN tells the story of Lebanese national Carlos Ghosn, one of the most successful automotive CEOs ever. In the course of more than 19 years, he turned indebted French car company Renault around and then did the same in an alliance with Japanese automotive giant Nissan. But, some claim, while he was slashing costs and the workforce at both, he was also allegedly embezzling a private stash of millions that paid for multiple international homes, a yacht, a private jet, fancy clothes, and a hair transplant. The film casts him as a seemingly meticulous and self-assured man, an early riser who neither smoked nor drank, but whose ego may have set the stage for his downfall. For example, he believed his 9-million-euro salary was insufficient. Perhaps, talking heads in the movie speculate, his ego got in the way, or his lavish lifestyle came in conflict with the sacrifices he was asking his employees to make. Many suggest that as his power grew, he lived in a bubble surrounded by yes-men (and women). He was shocked when Japanese authorities arrested him for a variety of financial transgressions and imprisoned him for 130 days in solitary. He says he faced an unfair trial bound to convict him based on little to no evidence and once out on bail, he hired an American former special ops agent, who engineered an elaborate and daring 2019 escape. Hidden in a large suitcase, he went from a Japanese airport straight to Lebanon, his home country, where he remains today, proclaiming his innocence. Nothing in the movie suggests he's unearthed evidence to exonerate himself.