An analysis of the pay, bonuses, and stock options received by the CEO's at 100 of America's largest corporations has revealed that despite major corporate scandals and plummeting stock prices, corporate compensation remained largely untouched by recession. In a year when millions of workers lost their jobs and those who were lucky enough to keep their employment saw average pay increases of only 3.2 percent, CEO's at the corporations examined saw an average increase of fifteen percent in their salaries and bonuses. Even as most of their shareholders saw the value of their investments decline many of these CEO's exercised stock options exceeding $60 million in some cases, and over ninety percent of the 100 CEO's considered recieved additional stock options.
See "Bubble hasn't burst yet on CEO salaries despite the times", GARY STRAUSS and BARBARA HANSEN, USA Today, March 30, 2003