Directors
of US companies received salary increases of almost 7 per cent – despite the
economic turmoil of the last 12 months.
Median
pay rose by 10.9 per cent to $115,687 (£75,886) in 2001 compared to $104,439
(£65,208) in 2000 and $97,750 (£64,120) in 1999.
The
median total direct compensation for CEOs went up by 6.9 per cent in 2001,
reaching $7,036,878 (£4,615,679).
However,
according to the survey of 350 firms by consultancy Mercer, the higher reward
levels were largely due to shares and share options granted over the year.