CEOs raked in the bucks in ’06

S&P 500 CEOs received $4.16 billion in cumulative compensation in 2006, the Associated Press reported.

Chief executives of the Standard & Poor’s 500 received a whopping $4.16 billion in cumulative compensation in 2006, the Associated Press reported.
According to proxy statements filed in the first half of this year, half the CEOs that the AP studied made over $8.3 million a year — and some much more.
CEOs make, on average, 179 times the pay of the company everyman, almost double the 90 to 1 ratio that existed in 1994, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service.
Including stock grants and stock options, Terry Semel, head of Yahoo Inc., led the pack, taking home $71.7 million last year including stock grants and stock options, according to the AP.
Two energy industry chiefs, Bob Simpson of XTO Energy Inc., who made $59.5 million, and Ray R. Irani of Occidental Petroleum Corp., who made $52.8 million, came in second and third.
The lowest paid head honcho was Costco Wholesale Corp. CEO James Sinegal, who made just $411,688.
It should be noted, however, that Sinegal also owns 2.4 million Costco shares, valued at about $1.3 billion.