Sunday, 7 August 2011

The Five Highest-Paid CEOs

Although experts claim that the economy is on the road to recovery, the unemployment rate remains painfully high. And for those who are fortunate enough to have a job, salary growth is expected to be a mere 2 percent. Well, at least for us common folk.
In comparison, the CEOs of 350 major companies received a whopping 11 percent pay increase ($9.3 million) in 2010, according to a survey The Hay Group conducted for The Wall Street Journal. This income included salary, stock options, long-term incentives, and last, but certainly not least, bonuses, which increased 19.7 percent.
Out of the 350, here are the five CEOs that topped the list:

5. Michael White, DirecTV
Income: $32.6 million
Since taking the helm of the satellite - TV provider in January 2010, White has earned millions from options and performance-based stock incentives. But don't forget, he did bravely endure a week of fielding customer service calls and installing satellite dishes for an episode of Undercover Boss.


4. Martin Franklin, Jarden
Income: $45.2 million
Under Franklin's leadership, Jarden, the manufacturer of several well-known brands such as Oster, Sunbeam, Coleman and K2, saw a net sales increase of 17 percent and raised 27 spots on the Fortune 500 List in 2010. Franklin clearly reaped the benefits.


3. Leslie Moonves, CBS
Income: $53.9 million.
Moonves has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS since January 1, 2006. The corporation, which includes Showtime, the CW and Simon & Schuster, had a 29 percent increase in free cash flow this past quarter. Compared to the $853 million CBS now has to spend, taking home $53.9 really doesn't seem unreasonable, does it?


2. Larry Ellison, Oracle
Income: $68.6 million
The CEO of Oracle, which provides business software and hardware systems to many of the top Fortune 100 companies, generously offered to forgo his salary this year. Although this may sound like a generous sacrifice, he did keep his options -- which were valued at $61.9 million.


1. Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom Inc.
Income: $84.3 million
Dauman, Viacom's CEO since 2006, received a $54.3 million equity award after renewing his contract for another five years. This bonus more than doubled his 2009 pay and put him at the top of the high-paid CEO heap. Viacom Inc. is made up of the MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, BET Networks and COMEDY CENTRAL -- just to name a few.
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By AOL Jobs Contributor,
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