Executive compensation is under fire, but CEO perks are alive and well. Top executives at some of the largest tech companies enjoy access to company jets, personal security, financial planning advice, club memberships, and more. Across all industries, the median value of these and similar perks rose nearly 7 percent in 2008, according to an Associated Press analysis, even as overall CEO compensation fell 7 percent. Read on to see which tech companies are paying more than $1 million in perks and which ones are anti-perk (notably Cisco and Microsoft). Items are arranged from the costliest to the least expensive perks, and our report includes extras doled out to CEOs at eight of the largest nontech corporations, for the sake of comparison. Data is drawn from companies' proxy statements, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Oracle CEO Larry Ellison
$1.4 million for security
As it has for the last few years, Oracle incurred costs and expenses of $1.4 million to secure CEO Larry Ellison's residence in 2008. (Oracle paid $1.7 million in 2007, $1.8 million in 2006, and $1.4 million in 2005 for Ellison's residential security.) But Oracle isn't the only party that pays for Ellison's home security: "Mr. Ellison paid for the initial procurement, installation and maintenance of the equipment for this system and the replacement of any equipment, and we paid for the annual costs of security personnel," Oracle said in its proxy statement.
Dell chairman and CEO Michael Dell
$1.2 million for security
Michael Dell's sole reported perk for fiscal 2009 is an expensive one: personal and residential security totaling $1.2 million. (The company paid $1 million in 2008 and $1.1 million in 2007 for the same.) However, Dell in 2009 didn't partake of some of the other perquisites the company offers its executive officers, including financial counseling and tax preparation services; an annual physical for each executive officer and his or her spouse or domestic partner; and personal and business technical support.
Qwest chairman and CEO Edward Mueller
$617,060 for aircraft use, relocation benefits and cash
Qwest CEO Edward Mueller's perks included $493,781 for personal use of corporate aircraft and relocation benefits of $48,279. He also received a flexible benefit payment of $75,000, which Qwest said "is a cash payment made at the beginning of each year in lieu of the various perquisites commonly paid to executives at other companies. Although these payments are intended to replace the piecemeal payment of most perquisites, we do not require executives to use the money for any particular purpose and we do not ask executives to report to us the purposes for which the money is used."
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