Good to Be CEO, Again: Pay Raises Back In Style

2016 is a great year for CEO as twice as many top American companies increased their chiefs’ pay in fiscal 2016 as cut it. The Wall Street Journal reported: “Pay raises are back in style in the corner office, wiping out cuts from a year earlier and pushing CEO compensation to new highs amid a surging stock market. Median pay for the chief executives of 104 of the biggest American companies rose 6.8% for fiscal 2016 to $11.5 million, on track to set a postrecession record … Companies could still do more to link leaders’ pay with long-term corporate performance, said Dieter Waizenegger, executive director of CtW Investment Group, the investment arm of union federation Change to Win…Some of the biggest paydays went to companies in transition—or even turmoil. Philippe Dauman, who was forced out as chief of media giant Viacom Inc. in August, made $93 million during the year. The total includes $58 million of exit payments, promised under his 2015 employment agreement. A Viacom spokesman declined to comment.”