Damn the Torpedoes! J&J CEO's $31M Pay Packet Is Up While Everything Else Is Down

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) CEO William Weldon has bucked the trend: While most Big Pharma chiefs are set to take compensation reductions for 2009, Weldon got a raise of 6%, or $1.6 million, to bring him nearly $31 million.

Weldon seems to be painting a bullseye on his back for critics of CEOs whose pay is completely delinked from the performance of their companies and the business environment in general.

The pay raise -- which featured increases in both salary and bonuses -- came in a year when J&J's revenues sunk 3 percent to $62 billion, the company laid off 8,100 people, and some salaries were frozen. At the same time, Weldon drew attention to his wealth by buying an $8 million North Palm Beach, Fla., waterfront home as he planned those layoffs.

His other top managers also got increased compensation last year, according to page 44 of this SEC filing. J&J's stock ended the year up only 8 percent to $64.94.

Weldon's pay goes against the trend: Execs at Pfizer (PFE), Allergan (AGN), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Genzyme (GENZ) and Abbott Labs (ABT) all took declines in 2009 compensation.

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