Pay-for-performance has as much authenticity in the world of CEOs nowadays as a three-dollar bill. Last year, the nation’s financial sector teetered toward collapsing, businesses hemorrhaged a couple million jobs, and the stock market fell 37%. But CEO pay? It collectively dipped…by less than one-tenth of 1%.

In fact, for many corporate titans 2008 was another banner year for their bank books. A new survey of CEO pay by research firm the Corporate Library found 75% of executives received an increase in their base salary. Among 100 industries examined in the survey, 40 of them saw leaders’ pay go up.

The 10 highest-paid CEOs consisted of seven from the oil industry, as well as Stephen Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group, Larry Ellison of Oracle, and Michael Jeffries of Abercrombie & Fitch. Schwarzman earned the most: with $702 million.
                                                                                                                                                      -Noel Brinkerhoff

Execs Make Bank While Stocks Tank (by Ben Rooney, CNN Money)
Why CEOs Survive Recession Better Than Others (by Rick Newman, U.S. News & World Report)