The heads
of America's 500 biggest companies received an aggregate 54% pay raise
last year. As a group, their total compensation amounted to $5.1
billion, versus $3.3 billion in fiscal 2003.
We define total
compensation as salary and bonus plus "other" compensation, which
includes vested restricted stock grants and "stock gains," the value
realized from exercising stock options during the just-concluded fiscal
year.
For those companies in which the chief executive has
been in office six years or longer, we looked at average six-year total
compensation and compared this to long-term stock performance of
industry peers as well as the overall stock market. We ranked 189 chief
executives in our performance versus pay scorecard. More...
The Best and Worst Bosses By Scott DeCarlo Some chief executives really earn their pay. Some don't. Some are so bad they should be paying their shareholders.
Paychecks on Steroids By Michael K. Ozanian and Elizabeth MacDonald Basing the boss' compensation on results delivered is a noble concept. But it has a dark side.
It Paid to Cheat By Maya Roney Some
companies that used heavy doses of performance-based pay to compensate
their chief executives have also been involved in accounting scandals.
Here are three egregious examples.
Permanent Help By Peter Kafka Jeff Joerres retooled staffing giant Manpower - and didn't ask for a fat pay package.
Crying All the Way to the Bank By Michael Maiello Mediocre results and gilt-edged paychecks land the Bank of New York's Thomas Renyi near the bottom of our rankings.
See Also
Turnaround CEOs By Lisa DiCarlo What does it take to successfully turn around a troubled company?
