I occasionally express my distrust of “tort” attorneys but I also have somewhat the same feelings about company executives and their boards that rip off their stockholders with their excessive pay and perks. I’ll list just a small handful of these “irreplaceable business executives”:
These are departed or departing Morgan Stanley CEO’s or C0-Presidents or CFO’s: Departing 41 year old CEO Stephen Crawford worked 3 ½ months; $11.5 million last year but guaranteed $16 million a year thru 2005 and 2006 if he resigns before 8/3/05. He did. His golden parachute cost to shareholders; 32 million.
Phillip Purcell retired 6/30/05. His latest deal was $44 million in exit pay and his salary last year was $22 million. In addition he gets $250,000.00 annually for life.
David H. Sidwell current CFO. His latest pay deal as of 7/05; $10.5 million. He must remain with the firm until 10/15/05 to collect. Double this amount if he leaves before that date. His 2006 undisclosed compensation is guaranteed paid even when he if is no longer an employee.
I’ll skip names and go to a WSJ article called “Jet Green: Some CEO’s Use Corporate Planes as Private Golf Shuttles.”
Chairman of General Dynamics lives in Falls Church, Va. and belongs to Sanctuary Golf Course at Sanibel Florida. Handicap 6.5
Chairman and CEO of Motorola lives in Schaumburg, Il. and belongs to The Preserve Golf Club at Monterrey, Ca. Handicap 16.7.
Chairman and CEO of Martha’s Vineyard lives in Cleveland and belongs to the Lost Tree Club at Palm Beach Florida and the Vineyard Golf Club at Martha’s Vineyard. Handicap 7.0.
Chairman and CEO, Verizon lives in New York and belongs to Old Marsh Golf Club in Palm Beach. Handicap 9.9.
This again is just a handful. All these guys say the use of corporate jets is appropriate business travel or they reimburse some of the expense and report it as income on their IRS forms.
Sure they do!! They get paid and use these “perks” whether their companies stock rise or falls. Unfortunately, those who complain usually want the same pay and benefits or more when the opportunity comes for them to move up the ladder.
A high percentage of companies and organizations have these “extreme” luxuries. Seldom are these salaries and benefits brought forward as public record until they are indicted or problems surface within their hierarchies. Problems such as befell the phony Christian Richard Scrushy, the Enron, World Com, Adelphia and Global Crossing gang of crooks; here again just to name a handful.
And we complain about the Saudi princes!! These largely way over paid and over benefited executives live like monarchy, yet profess to be strong supporters of democracy. Actually they are greedy capitalists laughing at others not as lucky as they fly to their golf clubs on their companies, lobbyists or someone else’s expense. They do make substantial donations; seldom “anonymous.” They must make the donations in their names or they would not be able to write these donations off on their taxes. They take all the credit when the company stock prices go up and pass the blame on to others when the stock prices go down and are harder to fire than a bad union employee.
I don't believe I write this blog in envy; I write it in disgust of some of my fellow humans. Countries where the poverty level is very high do envy us and the line between envy and hate is very short. It doesn’t take much leadership under some existing world conditions to convert this envy into extreme hatred. Take note now of recent happenings in South America.
These people say “we are worth every dime we are paid.” We say “have you no conscience?” Of course they don’t, no one has a conscience who can justify to themselves and their often “phony” friends that what they do is always the “right” thing.
My hard working father of nine, if alive today would feel sad and disappointed even if I was one of “them.”
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