CEO pay rises as profits fall
Many leaders made more money last year while companies' revenues shrank
By RACHEL BECK and MATTHEW FORDAHL, Associated Press
First published: Monday, June 16, 2008
NEW YORK -- As the American economy slowed to a crawl and stockholders watched their money evaporate, CEO pay still chugged to yet more dizzying heights last year, an Associated Press analysis shows.
The AP review of compensation for the heads of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index finds the median pay package added up to nearly $8.4 million. That's a comfortable gain of about $280,000 from 2006.
The 3.5 percent pay increase for CEOs came even as the landscape for both workers and shareholders darkened considerably and the economy was ****** by a housing market in free fall, layoffs and soaring prices for fuel and food.
At the top of the AP list: John Thain, who took the reins of Merrill Lynch on Dec. 1, 2007. His $83 million pay package was supercharged by a signing bonus and other enticements that lured him from the New York Stock Exchange to lead the investment bank as it was suffering its worst-ever losses.
Collectively, the 10 best-paid CEOs made more than half a billion dollars last year. Yet half the members of this stratospheric club were leading companies whose profits shrank dramatically.
