Ex-Exxon CEO gets $69.7 Million compensation and $98 Million pension

[Maraya1969]

Ex-Exxon CEO's Massive Pension Draws Fire
By STEVE QUINN, AP Business Writer

42 minutes ago

Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman and CEO Lee Raymond is ...

DALLAS - A $69.7 million compensation package and $98 million pension payout to Exxon Mobil Corp.'s former chief executive and chairman Lee R. Raymond has some shareholders and economists asking, "how much is enough?"

"Some folks will ask the question, 'Is this more evidence of big oil taking an enormous windfall and retaining all the riches?'" said Mel Fugate, assistant professor for Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business.

The Irving company has drawn criticism from politicians and economists for becoming the most profitable company in history _ at consumers' expense, they say.

Exxon benefited from high oil and natural gas prices and solid demand for refined products en route to earning $36 billion last year. The company has defended its profits, saying that other industries have larger profit margins but oil companies' bottom lines stand out because they operate on a much larger scale.

Recent news of Raymond's payout and pension is stoking embers Fugate said had been starting to die out. But with gasoline prices again reaching $3 a gallon at the pump in some areas and big oil companies about to report first-quarter earnings in coming weeks, expect more fallout, economists say.

On Wednesday, Exxon reported executive compensation in a regulatory file exercising stock options, which the company stopped awarding in 2001.



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[Jim Sagle]

1. Because 18 chins is never enough.

[MichiganVote]

2. So much for the shareholders

[corporate_mike]

3. In other news, Oprah made $225 million last year

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/53/O0ZT.html