CEOs enjoy lavish perks
In the small world of big CEOs, the perks can be spectacular.
Drivers, country club memberships, use of company aircraft — those splashy extras are fairly routine. And so are less-splashy extras, with companies often shouldering the cost for the boss' personal financial planning or annual physical.
All those come on top of the CEO's paycheck. Counting salary, stock awards and other types of compensation, the typical CEO of a big public company was paid a median $9.6 million last year, according to an Associated Press analysis.
That included $161,337 worth of perks and other personal benefits, up 2 percent from the year before. Overall pay was up 6 percent.
Equilar, an executive compensation data company, calculated the CEO pay data for the AP by examining the 322 companies on the S&P 500 that had filed the relevant regulatory disclosures by April 30.
Equilar looked only at companies that had the same CEO for at least two years. In regulatory filings, companies include perks in a category called “all other compensation.” That category also includes other personal benefits such as contributions to the executives' savings plans.
Among the perks showered on CEOs last year:
• Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia spent $73,230 on a weekend driver for its eponymous founder. It also paid for her personal trainer, “provided in her capacity as on-air talent.”
• Wynn Resorts spent $910,345 letting CEO Stephen Wynn use a company plane for personal travel. It also gave up $503,831 by keeping a suite at the Las Vegas resort constantly reserved for him, and gave him merchandise discounts worth $71,561.
• Chesapeake Energy spent $250,000 to help CEO Aubrey McClendon sort out his personal finances, and $121,570 on personal security for him. This month, the company ended a perk that let McClendon buy personal stakes in company wells.
• Avon said in December that it would demote Andrea Jung from the CEO job. But it still spent more than $145,000 on perks for her, including paying for her personal car insurance and a $95,577 car-service allowance. She remains the executive chairman.
Other companies make sure the CEO gets to use what the company makes. Top Goodyear executives get two sets of tires each year. Stanley Black & Decker, the power tool giant, gives company products to executives. The CEO got $1,251 worth last year.
