But theirs was COLD, HARD CASH!!!
"Pay packages took a hit at 81 US firms; Cuts offset by boosting CEOs salaries, bonuses" by Alexis Leondis, Jessica Silver-Greenberg, and Tara Kalwarski, Bloomberg News | March 26, 2010
NEW YORK — Total compensation for US chief executives shrank by 8.6 percent last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Oh, the poor dears.
How many millions are they still making?
Boards offset some cuts in stock awards and options by boosting CEO salaries and bonuses, the data show. With pay packages under pressure from President Obama and shareholder activists, average compensation fell to $9.81 million for the 81 chief executives whose companies’ proxy statements were examined.....
Yeah, they got more cash up front and wow, is there a charity for put-upon CEOs somewhere (outside the government tax systems)? Time to give now.
Cash became king in corner offices because boards acquiesced to chief executives’ desire for dependable income, according to interviews with 15 compensation experts. Executives were not willing to give up salaries for long-term, stock-based awards that could decline in value.
WTF? Stock market is bubbling, 'er, roarin' again.
And all that talk and print about stock options, vested stock, restricted stock, and the rest. All while a pile of CASH was being slid across the table!
‘‘When the economy is reeling, the most stable form of pay isn’t stocks, it’s cash,’’ said Sam Pizzigati, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington who has written about executive compensation. ‘‘In rough times, the surest thing is cash, and that’s what they went for.’’
That isn’t the direction preferred by the White House.
‘‘To the extent there is more emphasis on cash than stock, that’s unfortunate,’’ said Kenneth Feinberg, the US special master on executive compensation, appointed by Obama in June. ‘‘We’re pushing the other way.’’
Pfft!
Related: Executive Payday: Feinberg's Files
Yeah, nothing he could do.
Not all TARP recipients showed restraint. Last August, Wells Fargo & Co.’s compensation committee approved raising CEO John Stumpf’s base salary more than fivefold to $5.6 million, all but $900,000 of which was awarded in shares that vested over the rest of the year.
Related: The Banks That Have Hearts
Hey, laundering drug dough is worth a raise.
Stumpf, 56, received a total pay package of $21.3 million, 136 percent more than in 2008. Ray Irani, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp., ranked first among the 81 executives with a $31.4 million pay package in 2009. Irani, 75, stands to get a bigger payday this year — a $58.5 million cash award.
How much did you need for those libraries, Boston?
And I thought they just gave you a gold watch:
"Retiring BJ’s CEO gets nearly $1m" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | March 30, 2010
Herbert J. Zarkin will receive nearly $1 million in compensation from BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. in connection with his retirement as an employee and executive officer of the Natick-based company.
If reelected as a director at the 2010 annual meeting, Zarkin will serve as nonexecutive chairman of the board of directors and receive an annual cash retainer of $250,000 and up to $150,000 annually in air transportation expenses for travel to and from board meetings and other company related business, according to a recent company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These people toss money around like a child throws shit around a crib when the diaper comes loose.
When Zarkin’s employment agreement with BJ’s expires on May 25, he will serve as a consultant to the chief executive and the senior management team.
Zarkin, who served as chief executive until 2009, will work as a consultant for three years and receive an annual consulting fee of $575,000 under terms of the agreement, which was approved by BJ’s board of directors on March 25.
We got so much money we don't know what to do with it; here is another chunk of change.
I thought he was retiring.
--more--"
And here come the MSM apologies:
"Big paydays for new CEOs often have strings attached" by Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | April 10, 2010
The chief executives for Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. have only been in their posts for a few months, yet the pair already appear to be among the highest paid corporate executives in the country.
Related: Executive Payday: Scientific Stealing
And consider this:
"Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world’s largest maker of laboratory instruments, sold $750 million of debt in a two-part offering, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Proceeds will be used to redeem Thermo Fisher’s floating-rate convertible debt due in 2033"
Do you have a floating-rate convertible debt on your bill, Americans?
Is that how they are paying him?
Both Thermo Fisher’s Marc N. Casper and Boston Scientific’s J. Raymond Elliott received pay packages worth more than $33 million last year....
And how much did the schools in Boston need?
“These are very, very large amounts,’’ said Frank Glassner, the chief executive of Veritas Executive Compensation Consultants LLC, a pay consulting firm based in San Francisco. “I am positive there are many, many players who are willing to work for companies like this for far less.’’
Yeah, turns out AmeriKan business is simply an EXCUSE to LOOT!
Meanwhile, YOU need to STRUGGLE, PAY TAXES, and FOLLOW the RULES, American!
This week, Thermo Fisher reported that Casper, who was promoted from chief operating officer of the company to chief executive last fall, earned $34.3 million in 2009, up from $9.3 million in 2008....
This while the economy was s***ting out!
David Wise, another pay consultant, said it’s not unusual for chief executives to receive a large pay package in their rookie year, even if they haven’t accomplished anything yet....
So where is my big pay package? I haven't done anything yet.
(Blog editor shakes his head and sighs)
Thermo Fisher reported that former chief Marijn Dekkers, who resigned last fall to run the German health care giant Bayer AG, received $1.7 million, down from $18.7 million in 2008.
Left early in the year, huh?
Thermo Fisher is one of the largest providers of laboratory equipment, with 35,000 employees around the world and more than $10 billion in annual revenue.
Meanwhile, Boston Scientific, a medical device maker based in Natick, reported two weeks ago that it paid Elliott $33.5 million, including a $1.5 million signing bonus and $29.4 million in stock awards and options that will vest over several years.
Elliott, 60, who was on Boston Scientific’s board of directors, replaced James Tobin as chief executive last summer. Boston Scientific has more than $8 billion in revenue and 26,000 employees worldwide. A company spokesman previously declined to comment on Elliott’s pay....
Yeah, and the lot a BILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR ALONE -- after three straight years of losses (and they are paying settlements and fines for lying).--more--"
But don't worry; U.S. Senate to the rescue!!!
"Tax hike on equity executives mulled" by Bloomberg News | April 14, 2010
WASHINGTON —The US Senate, seeking revenue to fund jobs bills and other initiatives, is for the first time considering adopting a House proposal that would more than double tax rates on executives at private equity firms, said Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.
Going nowhere. More political theater when we know what money owns the hill.
The proposal, designed to raise $24.6 billion over a decade, would affect venture capitalists, managers of real estate partnerships, and hedge fund managers who make long-term investments. Passed by the House three times, most recently in December as part of a jobs bill, it hasn’t come to a vote in the Senate, where some Democrats have signaled they would oppose it....
Well, there you go!
