When word got out that NYSE Director, Dick Grasso, received a $139.5 million payout on his retirement plan people were shocked. When they found out he is entitled to another $48 million people were outraged. These numbers are shocking, but it is hard to determine how astronomical they are, unless we compare his wages to other big names inside and outside of the industry.
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It is still unclear as to how he accumulated such wealth. Over 36 years at the NYSE helps, but he has only been the chairman since 1995. The real boost came from changes in compensation made in 1999. To compare Grasso's wages, I am pulling numbers from information he sent to the SEC. If anything, these numbers understate his real earnings.
Dick Grasso's Wages vs. Other Financial Executives
After being probed by the SEC and financial reporters, the first response that came out of the NYSE was that Grasso's pay was similar or below many of the pay of executives that he regulates. They argued that his compensation was fair when compared to the corporate world (though, the NYSE is a not-for-profit corporation). To see if this was true, I researched 2001 CEO pay for top-notch financial companies and compared it with Grasso's 2001 compensation which consisted of:
| Salary | Annual Incentive | Capital Accumulation Plan | Special Payment |
Total |
|
| 2001 | $1,400,000 |
$16,100,000 |
$8,050,000 |
$5,000,000 |
$30,550,000 |
Here is how he stacks up when compared to financial CEOs:
As the chart shows, it pays well to be the CEO of a major financial company. It is hard to believe that Charles Schwab (CEO of Charles Schwab) made seven million dollars less than Dick Grasso in 2001. Only David Komansky, CEO of Merrill Lynch, made Grasso's compensation look respectable.
Comparing Dick Grasso's compensation to other financial executives shows that he is, perhaps, overpaid, but when you compare him to U.S. Celebrities, the results are even more shocking:
Dick Grasso's Wages vs. Celebrities
