'How'd they become worth so many more... workers?' - By Jane M. Von Bergen, Philadelphia Inquirer
Drosdick's total direct compensation - salary, bonus, long-term incentive plan payouts, and the exercise of previously issued stock options - was about $46 million in 2005, up 37 percent from $33.4 million the prior year. Average total direct compensation for all CEOs was $4.8 million, up from $3.6 million in 2004.
'I think it's outrageous,' Savage said. 'But I don't think Jack Drosdick is the problem. These days, the average CEO's salary - and I'm pulling this number out of the air - is worth 500 workers' salaries and 15 times the salary 30 years ago.'
Savage's figures are a little off. Average CEO pay in 2003 was 185 times the average worker's pay, compared with 1965, when it was 24 times the average pay, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.
'It's not a Sunoco or a Drosdick thing,' Savage said. 'It's an issue that affects the whole country. How did they become worth so many more of the workers?'