The chief executive officers of the companies listed in the S&P 500 Index earned a combined $4.16 billion in 2006, with half raking in more than $8.3 million, the Associated Press reports. Leading the pack is Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, who earned $71.7 million.
No. 2 on the list is Bob Simpson, CEO of XTO Energy, who earned $59.5 million, followed by Ray R. Irani, CEO of Petroleum Corp., who earned $51.8 million.
And the top 10 earners took in more than $30 million apiece.
While the lowest-paid executive was James Sinegal, CEO of Costco Wholesale, earning $411,688, he owns about $1.3 billion in Costco stock.
The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.
