American Success Story

[imoldernu]

The American Dream... alive and well!

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's co-founder, was America's highest-paid boss in 2012, according to GMI Ratings annual poll of executive compensation, released on Tuesday. Zuckerberg's total compensation topped $2.27bn – more than $6m a day.

US CEOs break pay record as top 10 earners take home at least $100m each | Business | theguardian.com

Did you get your share?

Maybe sometime after tax season is over for 2013, we'll get a chance to see how much the 100 top paid CEO's will pay in taxes.

No complaints here... I'll settle for the median household income dollars, even though they're down from 1999.

 

[FIREd]

Compared to Zuck's, our income is chump change. Still, 2013 is gearing to be our best year yet income-wise.

 

[MichaelB]

The American Dream... alive and well!


US CEOs break pay record as top 10 earners take home at least $100m each | Business | theguardian.com

Did you get your share?

Maybe sometime after tax season is over for 2013, we'll get a chance to see how much the 100 top paid CEO's will pay in taxes.

American dream or modern day piracy? CEO (and other executive) pay is an example of modern day looting. I am astounded at Zuckerberg, who collected his first couple of $B in stock options even before the company went public.

 

[LOL!]

i made only slightly less than Zuckerberg, so I think I got my share.

 

[Jager]

I think senior-executive compensation in the US is one of the most egregious excesses in capitalism. One in which boards of directors are not simply complacent - but in many cases are active participants. It's a boys club.

That said, I make a distinction between executives who are brought in to operate a business versus those who invented it. I don't begrudge the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world their pot of gold.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Maybe 5 years ago, I was reviewing the annual report of an electric utility company for an elderly relative who had purchased the stock by paying a little extra each month with their bill. In the report, the CEO was making a rounded $27M. While I believe that he works hard, I do not know that a heavily regulated utility with average returns needs to pay someone that much money.

 

[Bestwifeever]

... I make a distinction between executives who are brought in to operate a business versus those who invented it. I don't begrudge the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world their pot of gold.

I agree. And they get movies made about them!

 

[JOHNNIE36]

This is pretty long ago to remember exactly, but back in the late 50's while a
college student with GM, I saw an article about the President of GM being the highest paid executive in the country with a salary and bonus of $1M. That just stunned me that someone could make that much money. I was living high at the time, for as a co-op engineering student I was making $1.85/hour.

 

[Onward]

I'm thankful I live in a country where it's possible to make $billions. Countries like that are rare.

That same abundance has allowed me to make and save enough to spend the rest of my life the way I choose. That luxury is very, very rare.

If I were truly envious of Mark Z, I would be spending every waking hour starting companies.

 

[dtbach]

What really galls me is when a boss who totally botched the job gets a golden parachute of millions after being fired.

I worked at Mattel in the late 90's when our illustrious CEO Jill Barard did the following:

In May 1999, at the height of the dot-com bubble, Mattel acquired The Learning Company for $3.5 billion in stock[4] or 4.5 times annual sales.[5] The Learning Company had in 1997 accumulated losses of $475 million.[6] then renaming it "Mattel Interactive", in what has been called one of the worst acquisitions in corporate history.[3] Mattel sold Learning Co. to Gores Technology Group, receiving $27.3 million for the unit.

and

Missus Barad green-lighted the $3.5 billion acquisition of a company that hemorrhaged money at a (reported) rate of $700,000 to a million dollars a day and Mattel's stock price quickly plummeted more than 65%. The shareholders and board tend not to like when things like this happen and Missus Barad was ushered out the door, but not before she was politely and generously granted a fat severance package (reportedly) worth $50,000,000.

So here is how a disgraced and horrible CEO ends up:

The Real Estalker: Former Mattel CEO Jill Barad (Re-)Lists Barbie-free Sunset Boulevard Mansion

 

[sengsational]

Another party complicit in this deal is Vanguard, Fidelity, and the rest. They sit on their hands when the outrageous compensation packages are voted on. They really should poll the shareholders, not on every vote, but disposition on various topics. Some of us might want the ratio of highest paid employee to lowest paid employee to be higher, some might want it lower. If the mutual fund company had that data, they'd be able to vote the way the majority wanted. It would be a long slog, though, because it would be hard to justify an unequal treatment from the earlier wild growth in CEO compensation.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

It may be a success story for Zuckerberg but the wealth inequality in the U.S. is not a success story for our country as a whole.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I'm thankful I live in a country where it's possible to make $billions. Countries like that are rare.

That same abundance has allowed me to make and save enough to spend the rest of my life the way I choose. That luxury is very, very rare.

If I were truly envious of Mark Z, I would be spending every waking hour starting companies.

Actually Billionaires are pretty distributed worldwide. I like a country that has a very strong, wide, and wealthy 'middle class'. That was America's strength in past decades.

Think about it. An economy does much better with 1,000 Millionaires than 1 Billionaire.

The World's Billionaires - Forbes

 

[ls99]

Seems to me Zuxkerberg proved once again amd continues to, not only that a sucker is born every minute, but also that he can make a lot of dough by trading on the gullible's willingness to keep on disclosing and sharing their personal information on which he trades.

More power to him.

And people whine about the NSA. Duh.

 

[NW-Bound]

What really galls me is when a boss who totally botched the job gets a golden parachute of millions after being fired.

I worked at Mattel in the late 90's when our illustrious CEO Jill Barard did the following...

Oh yes. I remember reading about Jill Barad in BusinessWeek back then. What a disgrace!

But her compensation of $50MM paled besides that of another CEO, whose name and company I forgot, who got something like $900MM. If memory serves, he managed to have the contract written to award him some conditional stock options, which turned out to be extremely valuable not because of his management prowess, but merely due to the tide that lifted that entire sector.

Regarding Zuckerberg's fortune, if investors want to give his company a valuation of $126 billions based on a corporate income of less than $600M, who am I to say that they could not? All I can do is to not buy his stock. What would I do next, not allowing people to watch Kardashian on TV?

PS. By the way, when FB gets included in S&P index, y'all will be buying that too, whether you want it or not.

 

[dtbach]

Oh yes. I remember reading about Jill Barad in BusinessWeek back then. What a disgrace!

But her compensation of $50MM paled besides that of another CEO, whose name and company I forgot, who got something like $900MM. If memory serves, he managed to have the contract written to award him some conditional stock options, which turned out to be extremely valuable not because of his management prowess, but merely due to the tide that lifted that entire sector.

Regarding Zuckerberg's fortune, if investors want to give his company a valuation of $126 billions based on a corporate income of less than $600M, who am I to say that they could not? All I can do is to not buy his stock. What would I do next, not allowing people to watch Kardashian on TV?

PS. By the way, when FB gets included in S&P index, y'all will be buying that too, whether you want it or not.

Well I never understood how Google could make any money on doing searches. A friend insisted I should buy 100 shares early and I scoffed at him. He ribs me about it every chance he can (and now it is over $1000 a share) Who knew?? NOT ME. . .

 

[NW-Bound]

I cannot figure out how Google makes money either, or actually how they make THAT much, but unless they cook the book, they do.

Sales: $55.80B
Net: $11.64B
Market Cap: $343B

Google's P/E of 30 is rich compared to S&P, but not outrageous like FB.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I cannot figure out how Google makes money either, or actually how they make THAT much, but unless they cook the book, they do.

Sales: $55.80B
Net: $11.64B
Market Cap: $343B

Google's P/E of 30 is rich compared to S&P, but not outrageous like FB.

Almost all of it is from advertising revenue -

Google's Revenue Breakdown Shows It Controls Even More Advertising Than You'd Think - CBS News

 

[clifp]

I cannot figure out how Google makes money either, or actually how they make THAT much, but unless they cook the book, they do.

Sales: $55.80B
Net: $11.64B
Market Cap: $343B

Google's P/E of 30 is rich compared to S&P, but not outrageous like FB.

I figure the way Google really makes money is by providing an immensely valuable service, organizing the worlds information and making it instantly available. Roughly 1/2 the world has access to the internet now, so you figure that Google is worth ~$100 person on the planet with access to the net. I don't know about the rest of you but I'd gladly pay many times a $100 A YEAR to have access all the service Google (and its competitors) provide.

Of course I have also felt its stock was too expensive, one of the curse of being a value investor.

 

[NW-Bound]

I should have written that I knew Google made money from ads, but could not believe it was that much. Never the consummate consumer, it's hard for merchants to make money off me, and I was extrapolating to the world.

But just now, I realized that with the disruptive technology of the Web, what Google is gathering in ads, pennies by pennies though it adds up to billions, is probably a lot less than what the news media altogether collected in advertisement in the old days.

I guess being a tech nerd who was not involved with marketing or sales has kept me from understanding the amount of money that can be made in commerce by middlemen. Of course I am not saying that middlemen are not needed, nor that they do not earn their keep.

 

[Texas Proud]

I do not have any ill will from someone who makes their billions from creating a company...

However, the amount listed is NOT this case.... this is SALARY (admit it is stock options, but still it is not what he owned prior to them giving it to him)...

IOW, if he made a lot because he kept a lot of his original shares... good for him.... taking $2 bill in stock options... stealing....

 

[Malcolm2]

I think senior-executive compensation in the US is one of the most egregious excesses in capitalism. One in which boards of directors are not simply complacent - but in many cases are active participants. It's a boys club.

That said, I make a distinction between executives who are brought in to operate a business versus those who invented it. I don't begrudge the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world their pot of gold.

+1
I find it amusing but tiring to hear folks who don't take the big risk themselves sit around and try to decide how much the risk takers like Jobs, Gates, etc., should make. Even Zuckerberg, although his impact may be more fleeting. There are real excesses in executive compensation which seem to be a weakness of capitalism - until you compare it to the other systems out there. The fact that anyone can come to America dreaming of being 'overcompensated' or otherwise successful, and if they work hard - make it, is a huge strength, and just not common elsewhere.

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes, foreigners still vote with their feet and come here.

Though I do not own FB stock, nor even a FB account, I'd rather FB be a US company than, say, a European or a Chinese company.

And there must be some reasons why more innovation is occurring here than elsewhere, although the Chinese seem to be catching up. Let's remember the positive aspects of our economy, and not throw away the baby with the proverbial bath water.

I do not have any ill will from someone who makes their billions from creating a company...

However, the amount listed is NOT this case.... this is SALARY (admit it is stock options, but still it is not what he owned prior to them giving it to him)...

IOW, if he made a lot because he kept a lot of his original shares... good for him.... taking $2 bill in stock options... stealing....

Well, I read the article, and his stock options were granted back from IPO. Yes, IPO investors clamoring for his stocks agreed to that deal.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

But just now, I realized that with the disruptive technology of the Web, what Google is gathering in ads, pennies by pennies though it adds up to billions, is probably a lot less than what the news media altogether collected in advertisement in the old days.

It depends on the topic but some pay per click ads cost $10+ for a single click.

 

[MichaelB]

American dream or modern day piracy? CEO (and other executive) pay is an example of modern day looting. I am astounded at Zuckerberg, who collected his first couple of $B in stock options even before the company went public.

I've been recently reminded that my own good fortune, a few orders of magnitude less than that referred to in the OP, has similar roots. US corporate executive compensation, both direct pay and equity based, is not limited to CEO'd, thousands more benefit handsomely. Most of us here also benefit by investing in these same businesses and capital markets. It would be hypocritical of me to begrudge to others that from which I have benefited so well. I am grateful for the reminder.