Executive Pay: Lucky No. ... 18?

Parsing the annual proxy parade is yielding lots of insight into the ever-popular topic of how much American corporations pay their senior executives.

Median pay rose about 9 percent last year, for example. And new disclosure rules show that perks are more creative than ever. But what can explain the noticeable number of chief executives who were paid about $18 million last year?

Here's just a partial list, to illustrate the variety of business lines, company sizes and profitability of companies that all concluded their bosses were worth roughly the same last year:

Ronald D. Sugar at Northrop Grumman received $1.4 million in salary, $3.1 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, $416,857 in "other compensation"--mainly pension contributions and bodyguards--as well as stock and option awards worth about $13.7 million. Total: $18.6 million. His company's stock rose about as much as the S&P 500 index.

Rex Tillerson at Exxon Mobil received $1.5 million in salary, $2.8 million cash in a bonus, $13.6 million in stock, and a few hundred thousand dollars for incidentals like bodyguards, personal travel in the corporate jet, and country club memberships. Total: $18.4 million. His company made $39.5 billion in profit last year, a U.S. record.

Robert Ulrich of Target, the upscale discount retailer, received $1.7 million in salary, $3 million in bonus, $3.1 million in non-equity incentive compensation, $7.12 million worth of stock options, and assorted retirement-related benefits and perks. Total: $18.2 million. His stock rose less than the S&P 500 index last year.

Paul A. Ormond of Manor Care, the nursing home operator, received $1 million in salary, a $2.05 million bonus, $814,500 from a non-equity incentive plan, $14.4 million in stock and options, and assorted other odds and ends worth about $660,000. That includes $135,327 in above-market returns on deferred compensation; not surprisingly, he chose to defer $750,413 of this year's salary, too. Total: $18.9 million. His stock easily beat the S&P 500 index last year.

Richard Parsons at Time Warner, the world's largest media conglomerate, received $1.5 million in salary, an $8.5 million cash bonus, $8 million in stock and options, and a bit more than $400,000 in "other compensation" like travel on corporate jets, financial planning, life insurance premiums--and $8,800 in savings. Total: $18.4 million. His company's shares rose about 25 percent last year, easily beating the S&P 500 index.

Kevin Sharer at Amgen received almost $1.5 million in salary, bonuses totaling $4.5 million, $11.65 million stock and options, and almost $1 million in perquisites, including use of the company plane, a car and driver, and $15,000 for financial and tax planning. Total: $18.6 million. His company's shares actually fell more than 10 percent last year amid criticism of the cost of its cancer-fighting drugs.

Richard Fairbank at Capital One Financial didn't get a penny in salary or bonus, and only $151,484 in perks, such as a car and driver, financial planning advice. He did, however, accept $18 million in stock options. Total: $18.1 million. His company's shares also fell more than 10 percent last year.

Kerry Killinger of Washington Mutual received $1 million in salary, $4.1 million in non-equity incentive pay, $12.5 million in stock and option awards, and about half a million for perks like personal use of the company jet. Total: $18 million. His company's shares rose about one-third as much as the S&P 500 index.

Robert Essner at Wyeth, the pharmaceuticals company, received $1.66 million in salary, $3 million in incentive pay, $13.6 million in stock and options, and $147,138 for other things, including the reimbursement of $27,000 in taxes due on all the other perks. Total: $18.4 million. His company's stock trailed the S&P 500 index.

Irene Rosenfeld, who became C.E.O. at Kraft Foods only last June, received $675,000 in salary, $5.75 million in bonus pay, $12 million in stock, and about $185,000 in perk pay. Total: $18.6 million. Her company's stock jumped by more than 25 percent last year, with most of that gain coming after she arrived.

Samuel J. Palmisano at I.B.M. started with his $1.75 million base salary, then added $5 million in incentive pay, $3.3 million in stock options, and $7.8 million worth of stock he can collect in 2009 if he meets his performance targets. To tide him over the in meantime, he received $923,000 in perks and retirement benefits, including $249,000 in dividend equivalents on restricted shares and $207,000 in company contributions to his 401(k) plan. Total: $18.8 million. His company's stock climbed more than 20 percent as it posted record profits.

Ken Thompson at Wachovia received $1.09 million in salary, $5.15 million in non-equity incentive pay, $11.8 million in stock and option awards, and $216,178 in other compensation--including $20,911 for financial planning and tax preparation. Total: $18.4 million. His company's stock rose only about half as much as the S&P 500 index.

Poor Jerry Grundhofer at U.S. Bancorp just missed the cut. His pay package--$1.1 million in salary, $12.43 million in stock, $4 million in cash incentives, and a few hundred thousand in perks--totaled just $17.89 million.

But wait--as they say--there's more! Gundhofer, 62, also surrendered 371,910 shares of restricted stock in exchange for a $13.14 million bump in his retirement benefit.

His company's stock rose more than 20 percent last year. The biggest bump came on the day the bank named his successor, Richard Davis.

by Mark Stein