June 20, 2013

Analysis of the earnings of the top 200 chief executives at public companies with at least $1 billion in revenue indicates another big raise last year. The research, conducted by Equilar Inc., the executive compensation analysis firm, found that the median 2012 pay package came in at $15.1 million — a leap of 16 percent over 2011.  As usual, cash pay pales next to the value of the stock and option grants they received. Median cash compensation was $5.3 million last year, while stock and option grants came in at $9 million. Stock grants are clearly where the action is, and their value can really add up. Equilar’s analysis calculates the median value of stock holdings of these C.E.O.’s at $51 million. That’s a median of $66.1 million dollars per year. Median. And you thought baseball players were overpaid.