Best-Paid CEO Earned $53.9 Million : Business: Magazine discloses money earned by chief executives at leading U.S. corporations in 1989.

Craig McCaw, the chairman of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc., was the highest-paid U.S. chief executive last year with $53.9 million in salary, bonuses and stock options, Business Week said today.

The business magazine, in its May 7 issue, disclosed the money earned by top chief executive officers at the leading U.S. corporations in 1989.

Steven Ross of Time Warner Inc. ranks second with a total pay of $34.2 million, followed by Donald Pels at Lin Broadcasting Corp. with $22.7 million and Jim Manzi at Lotus Development Corp. with $16.3 million.

“The year’s biggest money-makers proved once again that there is no business like show business,” BusinessWeek said. “Three of the top 10 CEOs hail from the entertainment world, including Ross, Paramount Communications’s Martin Davis (ranked No. 7), who got $11.6 million, and Walt Disney’s Michael Eisner (No. 9), who carried away $9.6 million.”

Also in the top 10 are Reebok International’s Paul Fireman (No. 5) with $14.6 million, Torchmark’s Ronald Richey (No. 6) with $12.6 million, Coca-Cola’s Roberto Goizueta (No. 8) with $10.7 million and August Busch III (No. 10) at Anheuser-Busch with $8.8 million.

“Despite those large sums, 1989 was hardly a banner year for most top executives,” BusinessWeek said. “With corporate profits in a slump, the average chief executive officer’s salary and bonus rose only 3.4%, to $1.17 million, the smallest increase since 1970.”

Among executives who gave shareholders the most for their pay, BusinessWeek gave the best mark to Albert Ueltschi who collected a mere $737,000. Under Ueltschi’s management, shareholders got a 222% return on their investment.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Chrysler’s Lee A. Iacocca who earned $1.9 million, gave shareholders the least for their money--a 10% drop in investment value, the magazine said.