The CEO Pay Machine

The salaries and compensation packages companies pay CEOs have rocketed in recent decades: Even mediocre CEOs commonly receive $100 million paydays. Steven Clifford offers an eloquent evisceration of executive pay, blaming a cabal of compensation consultants and cozy directors. He’s a former CEO who has served on a number of corporate boards, so he’s able to use clear language and even humor to explain the taxability of stock options and the manipulation of performance benchmarks. Clifford is also a painstaking reporter. However, while his suggestions for stopping the CEO pay machine are intriguing, his idea for a luxury tax on executive compensation higher than $6 million is probably a nonstarter under the Trump White House. getAbstract recommends this engaging analysis to analysts, strategists, budget-minded employees and shareholders seeking contrarian insight into executive pay trends.