A survey by Pearl Meyer & Partners found that total compensation in 2001 for chief executives was down 4% from 2000. The average compensation was $10.46 million for the 50 companies they surveyed, who have average sales of $28 billion. Analysts hope that the idea of pay for performance is becoming a reality and credit the recession, war on terrorism and the collapse of Enron for the change.
See "Profits Down, Executive Pay Falls as Well, Survey Shows", David Leonhardt, The New York Times, March 5, 2002