RJ and Makay

Chief executives at major U. S. firms were rewarded with a sharp pay increase in 2010, as strong profits and share price growth led boards to award generous bonuses and stock grants. A survey of 350 companies showed that CEOs’ median salary, bonuses and long-term incentives increased by 11% to $9.3 million 2010, according to a Hay Group study of proxy statements conducted for the Wall Street Journal. This compares to 2009 results that came in generally flat compared to the prior year.

Of the highest paid CEOs participating in the WSJ / Hay Group study, forty-one of them, or 12%, are at financial companies. Number one in that category is Laurence D. Fink, of Blackrock, who had total compensation of $23,650,000. James Dimon of JP Morgan Chase came in second at $23,000,000.