Yahoo executive tops list with total of $71.7M

Ellen Simon
Associated Press
Published June 11, 2007
Lansing State Journal

NEW YORK - A new Associated Press calculation shows that compensation for America's top CEOs has skyrocketed into the stratospheric heights of pro athletes and movie stars: Half make more than $8.3 million a year, and some make much, much more.

CEOs of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 that filed proxy information in the first half of this year received a combined $4.16 billion in 2006, according to AP's formula.

The high cost of chief executive pay has drawn criticism as salaries rose, stock options paid off like jackpots, and perks like private jets spread. Still, there are few signs of investor backlash.

Yahoo Inc.'s Terry Semel, whose Internet company has lagged behind Google Inc. in profit growth and stock performance, led the pack with total compensation last year of $71.7 million, according to the AP formula used to analyze those filings.

Semel was followed on the AP list by two energy industry CEOs, Bob Simpson of XTO Energy Inc. at $59.5 million and Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s Ray Irani at $52.8 million. Investment banks and energy companies were the sectors with the highest-paid leaders.

The Securities and Exchange Commission required companies starting this year to more completely disclose what they're paying their top executives. The lowest paid was Costco Wholesale Corp. CEO James Sinegal, who made $411,688. But Sinegal also owns 2.4 million Costco shares, worth about $1.3 billion, and has options to buy 1.2 million more shares.

The AP formula, developed with advice from pay consultants Pearl Meyer & Partners and Mercer Human Resource Consulting, adds salaries, bonuses, perks, above-market interest on pay that is set aside for later and what companies estimated the present value to be of restricted stock and options awards on the day they were granted last year