A slew of corporate captains have joined one of the most exclusive clubs in corporate America: Call them the $50 million men.
A combination of bonuses, retention packages and other perks pushed several CEOs above the $50 million mark for compensation in 2011, according to an analysis of Securities and Exchange filings published by USA Today Tuesday.
The newspaper said that among those CEOs in the club are:
- Disney Corp CEO Robert Iger, with compensation valued at more than $52 million
- Apple's Tim Cook, who got $378 million, which includes $376 million in restricted stock he got after replacing Steve Jobs
- Tyco International's Ed Breen - $68.9 million
- J.C. Penney's Ron Johnson - $51.5 million
- Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs - $50.6 million
The salaries may irk many in the U.S. who are already angry about rising corporate compensation while the unemployment rate remains stuck above 8 percent and wages for most workers are stagnant.
University of Toronto business school dean Roger Martin, author of "Fixing the Game: Bubbles, Crashes, and What Capitalism Can Learn from the NFL," told USA Today: "Corporate boards are tone deaf to the times, as are CEOs who justify this much compensation."
