RJ and Makay

American CEOs gained a median net 27% increase in compensation in fiscal year 2010, according to the ninth annual report from research group GMI.  CEOs from S&P 500 companies netted a 36.5% rise in realized compensation in 2010 after two consecutive pay declines in 2008 and 2009, the report said.

The report drew data from total chief executive earnings calculated from more than 3,200 proxy statements, and includes base salary, pension and retirement plan payments, exercised options and more.

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.