Our economic system needs reform

Executive Excess 2013: Bailed Out, Booted, and Busted

Diane Sweet

Monday, September 02, 2013, 8:48 pm

(Click on the heading for this article to read more and to watch a video)

Executive Excess has reported annually on excessive CEO compensation since 1994.

This 20th anniversary Executive Excess report examines the "performance" of the 500 corporate chief executives who have ranked among America's 25 highest-paid CEOs in one or more of the past 20 years.

The report’s key finding: Nearly 40 percent of the CEOs on these highest-paid lists eventually ended up “bailed out, booted, or busted.” 

· The Bailed Out: CEOs whose firms either ceased to exist or received taxpayer bailouts after the 2008 financial crash held 22 percent of the slots in our sample. Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers enjoyed one of Corporate America’s largest 25 paychecks for eight consecutive years — until his firm went belly up in 2008.

· The Booted: Not counting those on the bailed out list, another 8 percent of our sample was made up of CEOs who wound up losing their jobs involuntarily. Despite their poor performance, the “booted” CEOs jumped out of the escape hatch with golden parachutes valued at $48 million on average.

· The Busted: CEOs who led corporations that wound up paying significant fraud-related fines or settlements comprised an additional 8 percent of the sample. One CEO had to pay a penalty out of his own pocket for stock option back-dating. The other companies shelled out payments that totaled over $100 million per firm.