|  | | 2008 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
CEO Compensation Up 7.5% in 2007, Corporate Library Says Stock Options Helped Drive Overall Compensation For Top Executives Higher. But The Rate Of Increase Is Lowest Since 2001.
Ben Rooney
CNNMoney.com. December 9, 2008
_________________________________________________________________________
EXCERPT: Overall compensation for the nation's top executives rose more than expected last year, but the rate of increase was the lowest in six years, according to a study released Tuesday. The Corporate Library, an independent corporate governance group, said the median pay raise for the 1,864 executives who received one in 2007 was 7.5%. Total actual compensation for chief executives at 2,701 companies - including those with pay cuts or no change - was a median $2.05 million. While the increase was larger than the 5.15% bump the group had forecast earlier this year, it marked the first time that CEO pay rises have shown a single-digit percentage change since 2001, when the Corporate Library first began tracking the data. At that time, the median increase was just under 10%. The study showed that the increase in total actual compensation, which includes base salary, bonuses, perks and equity-based compensation, was due largely to value realized on stock options. The median base salary rose 4%. Base salaries were a median $590,500 last year. Total annual compensation, which is base salary plus bonuses and perks, was also a median 4% higher. The median CEO received $1.1 million in total annual compensation in 2007. […] In some cases, the pay increases were dramatic, with 30 CEOs receiving total compensation increases of 1,000% or more. The sharpest pay increase went to Richard Fairbank, CEO of the bank Capital One, whose total compensation went up 46,574% last year. At the same time, the study showed some significant declines in CEO pay with 25 CEOs seeing their total compensation fall by 90% or more. Top executives at retail business and builders had the most significant median declines in total annual compensation.
|
|
|
