CEO Pay Continues to Rise, Despite Calls for Restraint

The median pay for U.S. chief executives increased 15% last year and rose even more -- 22% -- for those at larger companies, according to a survey by Corporate Library, a corporate governance research firm.

The survey, to be released today, showed increases in almost every category of executive compensation, including base salary, annual bonus, total annual compensation, restricted stock, long-term incentive payouts and the value realized from the exercise of stock options. The only category to decline in 2003 from 2002 was the value of stock option grants.

Despite some calls for more restraint in CEO pay, it was a better year for the executives than 2002, when total compensation rose by a median of 9.5%.

“With statistics such as these, it would appear that any chance of reining in executive compensation has disappeared,” the report stated.

The report further stated that “CEOs are unlikely to feel the squeeze for at least three years, perhaps never.”

In comparing 2003 and 2002 compensation, the survey included more than 1,400 CEOs who occupied their posts for both years. Excluded were those who received no pay one year and normal pay the next, and vice versa.

Among the 372 companies included in the survey that are listed on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, median compensation for CEOs rose 22%. Of the 1,059 remaining chief executives, the median increase was 13%.

The survey also examined the pay of 1,794 CEOs who held their posts for all of 2003 and found that median compensation was $1.85 million.

InterActiveCorp CEO Barry Diller had the highest total compensation, according to the survey. He received $156 million in 2003, including stock option profit of $151 million.

Industry by industry, Corporate Library reported, CEOs of telecommunications and securities and commodities companies had some of the highest median total compensation in 2003, about $8 million in both categories.