Jack Welch of General Electric received $122 million in compensation in 2000 on a nominal salary of $4 million, mostly in the form of bonuses and stock options. The CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, got $48 million in bonuses in 1998. Leo Mullins of Delta Airlines got $32 million in 2002. I could go on and on.
I guess you'll just say "so what", right?
received $122 million in compensation in 2000 on a nominal salary of $4 million, mostly in the form of bonuses and stock options.
He did not "receive" this much in options. He received these options not in 2000 but long before. Surely, that is how it is reported --- to make you angry.
Very briefly: suppose the price of GE stock today is $37 and you receive an option exercisable at $40. What you have actually received is $3. From this point on it is your INVESTMENT. If you wait for 10 years and exercise that option in the year 2013, when the stock price is $200, you will pocket $200-$40=$160. Your investment grew from $3 to $160.
Observe that anyone could've made that investment. All you received was $3. But the media will report in 2013 that you got $160. That is the origin of these numbers. That is why they are always reported falsely. But you should know the difference.
The CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, got $48 million in bonuses in 1998. Leo Mullins of Delta Airlines got $32 million in 2002. I could go on and on. That's CEOs again. They are hired labor; that's what it takes to get talent.
I guess you'll just say "so what", right? As you can see, I did not. You seem to be a thinking person who is short on some facts. Why would you expect me to be rude to you?