CEOs Rake In Sky-High Perks

From Free Flights On The Corporate Jet To Country-Club Fees, CEOs Earn Millions In Extras

(AP)  Free beer! Free boat outings! Free taxes!

Even as CEO pay has increased, their perquisites, from personal flights on the corporate jet or yacht, to cars and drivers, to country club fees and home alarm systems, have persisted.

The perks mean free stuff for a crowd that could afford to pay its own way. After all, the median 2006 total pay for the CEOs at 386 Standard & Poor's 500 companies analyzed by The Associated Press was $8.3 million.

In 2006, the group's total amount of "other compensation" was $169.2 million. Besides all the cushy perks — which are considered taxable income by the government — many companies picked up the tab for those costs, too.

For the first time this year, investors got a better look at all this extra stuff. New proxy rules required companies to disclose perks that cost more than $10,000, a much lower threshold than the previous requirement of $50,000, or 10 percent of total annual compensation.

Some of the year's biggest perks came in the way of payments for executives' taxes. Public Storage Inc. covered CEO Ronald Havner Jr.'s $2.6 million in taxes on his bonus payments, which included $3 million in cash and $786,500 for performance-based compensation.

Alcoa Inc. disclosed for the first time that it paid hundred of thousands of dollars to its top executives to cover the taxes on company-paid relocation expenses, country club dues, spousal travel and life insurance.

Johnson & Johnson's William Weldon received $2.3 million on dividend equivalents on Certificates of Extra Compensation that the company awards executives. The certificates "provide deferred compensation paid at the end of an employee's career," the company said in its proxy filing.

Weldon choose to defer payment on all but $900,000 of the money.

Showing up in the most proxies were CEOs' personal use of company jets. The year's top frequent fliers include Michael Jeffries, chairman and CEO of retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co., who took $776,723 worth of flights on the corporate jet.

But Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc. former CEO Steven Heyer may have lapped him. Starwood paid $866,178 for Heyer's travel between his home in Atlanta and the company's offices in New York. The company said it does not consider the air travel, car and driver in New York and stays in New York hotels a personal benefit or a perk.

Other notable goodies were company products. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. executives can get up to two sets of tires a year. Reynolds American Inc. executives get free cigarettes and chewing tobacco. Anheuser-Busch Cos.' CEO gets free beer.

Executives at Brunswick Corp. can use the company-manufactured boats for marketing, hosting civic events, personal use and "to enhance product knowledge." That's part of a program that "encourages active participation in boating on the part of company officers," according to Brunswick's proxy.

The company valued Chairman and CEO Dustan McCoy's boat use at $222,678 in 2006, including coverage for his related taxes. Executives also can get company products worth $15,000 a year.

Executives at some companies can also get cash for their unused vacation time. Among them is Ronald Sugar, chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corp., who got an extra $49,347 for that. Sugar's total pay, including that payout, was $18.64 million.

While few companies are moving away from perks, there are a few scaling back — a bit. Ford Motor Co. executive vice president of the Americas Mark Fields will no longer use company aircraft for his personal trips home on weekends. In its proxy, Ford said that compensation for such trips totaled $517,560 in 2006.

He won't be slouching, however, since the company will pick up the tab for him to fly commercial — including in first class.

[afmca]

CEO perks would be justified if they were not scamming the system. They not only make the rules in which they play their game; they get to change them on a whim if they start to lose. The corporate boards are rubber stamps where CEOs of other companies sit to ensure their game never ends. Stockholders are powerless. Republicans block every bill meant to empower stockholder rights. I wonder how much better many American companies would be if we outsourced the CEO and kept the American worker?

The solution is to tax, tax, tax the perks. Anyone that makes millions and cannot afford to buy his own car, his own groceries, his own club membership, etc. deserves to be taxed, taxed, taxed.

If the situation changes to where CEOs don't game the system then it can be looked upon as truely earned compensation.

[acauble1]

As the saying goes...



... "He who has, gets."

[enriquecaliente]

The companies foot the tab for their CEO's taxes and cry about some $15.00 an hour shmuck's OT.
A CEO can do nothing to improve a company and still get PAID big time when asked to leave. If you took a picture of all the top CEO's in the 500, you wouldn't see one set of red eye.

Just green eyes, to match the color of money and their greed.

[griking]

Of course CEOs and upper management executives are greedy. But so are stock holders who insist that their investment has to increase year after year after year. The problem is that people in general are greedy. No matter who you are the majority of people will never say that they're satisfied and have enough. This is why companies are constantly stressed so hard to increase profits to the point where every day Joe's get laid off to save a few bucks. did your company make record profits last year? I bet they're expected to beat them again next year. Everyone is greedy and

[typical_lib]

to rmsdm4 I would say the following:

The NSF found that in 2003, a scant 4 years ago, there were 40,621,000 college graduates in America. By college graduates, they stipulate this represents ONLY those who graduated with Bachelor's degrees or higher.
The median individual income for a person with a bachelor's degree for 2003 was $43,143. If we average out the pay per week of a college grad in 2003, their weekly take home was around $829.00 a week(this is assuming taxes have been taken out of the previous average). The weekly pay for a CEO in 2003 was $155,769. That is more than 3.5 times the yearly median income of the aforementioned college graduates.
Furthermore: "...86 percent of billion-dollar company boards contain at least one CED of another company, while 65 percent of outside directors serve on two or more boards...89 percent of inside directors are outside directors on other companies' boards, and 20 percent of all directors serve on four or more company boards." (Information for the following data taken from Unequal Protection by Thom Hartman; great book--you should read it. Also check out www.theyrule.com).
What this basically is saying is that the few that rule boards, rule more than one. It's a closed system, private club and "we the people" aren't invited. It doesn't matter that colleges are churning out more graduates every year. There are a few that rule the money, and they don't share.

[drivelphobe]

CEO comp and perks are fine. This is the American dream and any smart, young business-minded, goal-oriented, driven individual can aspire to the ranks of CEO. This is the golden ring and is no different than the job of sports figure, rock star, movies legend and the like. What terrific role models these individuals are for the young students studying business and associated fields of interest. Almost anyone can make the CEO spot if they work hard, learn and become connected. It helps to be born to access, but that isn't required. The CEO plays an important role in the business world and these people, for the most part, are truly gifted individuals. There are a few bad apples once in a while, but that's the way it goes.

[antoniof123]

It is true GunOwnerDan they all want their pay off and at the human races expense but not to fear because in the end they can't take it with them no matter how they try.

[hypnotoad72]

rmsdm4 - That USED to be the case. These days, CEOs can wreck a company and still get a golden parachute... while the (ex) employees end up getting their pensions getting treated to golden showers.

Plus, if anyone can prove you don't need an education in order to make it big - it's Bill Gates. Of course, having ethics will hamper your chances at being successful as well...

I wish life was a simple as you make it out to be, rmsdm4, but it'll never be the case.

[rational_1]

Ya, but the Anheuser-Busch CEO gets free his own company's beer. I'd equate that to getting as many free punches to the face as I'd like. Even though CEOs do make a lot of money I think it's deserved if the company is well run. It's when they do a horrible job and expect multi-million dollar buyouts that I think they are out of touch with reality. Speaking of being out of touch with reality, who thinks that a grown man playing with a ball should make tens of millions of dollars a year? Now that's truly sick!

[omega39-2009]

Yep CEO's and uppermanagement do get perks. They also can get fired on a dime because every decision we make affects the lives of 100's or 1,000's our employees. For all of you sitting at home complaining about CEO pay, get off your butt and do something. Get an education, get motivated, and get a life.
Posted by rmsdm4 a

Riggghhhttt, you obviously don't have a clue. CEOs, unlike the workers have contracts that must be bought out.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Ex-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will get a severance package worth about $21.4 million, but stands to reap another $21 million after she was forced out by the computer maker's board last week, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The additional amount reflects the estimated value of her Hewlett stock and options as well as her pension, which were not included in her severance package, the New York Times reported.

Fiorina was forced to resign Tuesday after the computer maker's board concluded she hadn't boosted Hewlett's (Research) sagging stock or its fortunes after the company's merger with Compaq Computer.

When was the last time you raked in $42 million dollars for being fired rmsdm4?

[jantesh]

Granted CEOs have a lot of responsiblity and make decisions that affect a lot of people both internally and externally and they should be paid well for their services. But lately they have become greedier and greedier. This trend started in the 80's and then dropped off and not it has picked up. CEOs make the decisions but it is the worker that makes things happen. Fairness becomes an alien word. I loathe the fact that rich people throw their weight around and look down on other people. I see the President and Vice-Pres of the US have those attributes. This comes from the top setting bad examples. When Congress passes bills, the guilty get punished but so do the innocent.

[lochlan-2009]

Don't like what the company is giving their CEO's for perks? Sell your stock and do your best in letting other shareholders realize how that money spent on CEO Mr.Idon'thaveenough, is reflected in the companies profits for the year.

[rmsdm4]

Yep CEO's and uppermanagement do get perks. They also can get fired on a dime because every decision we make affects the lives of 100's or 1,000's our employees. For all of you sitting at home complaining about CEO pay, get off your butt and do something. Get an education, get motivated, and get a life.

[afinefolly]

' ... hiking thru the garden takes a few minutes, hiking thru the virtual version of the garden taxes a few seconds ... one day hiking thru the real garden will take a few seconds instead of a few minutes ... except, if you've a garden and a satelite camera, you can take a thousand photos of your garden, and when your kid hikes through the garden: the kid swallows the garden and pukes it back up and your one acre garden becomes a wholly different and new square mile garden and you have to retake all the *** photos ... '

' ... investing 10,000% more into authorities who can't afford to canvas a postage stamp is silly when minimum wage kids dancing get well soon feed the world first aid on the trail songs can canvas everything all the time for a hundreth of the cost, and since kids age five and less absorb 99+% of spankings and suffer 99 % of injuries and deaths including those from starvation, they above all others need the work, the money, and te life and lunch the musical epic quest to cure the common death ... '

[olebd]

These are the people the greedy politicians hang out with at the country clubs, resorts and in their posh neighborhoods. Politics and big business are set up for the elite. Nothing will change as long as government is reserved for those who can afford the millions of dollars it takes to campaign.

[gunownerdan]

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The dirty democrats and the rotten republicans will have it no other way!