the Devil is slowing dying...

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

something you are unlikely to read in the glorious News of The World, the London Times or see on the fanatstic Fox News..amongst tales of the travels of Gary Glitter:

Rupert Murdoch was granted a salary of $US30 million this year by his "independant" board members. ( an increase of 24% on last year)

Peter Chernin, News Corp president received $US29 million.

Roger Ailes..friendly Republican boss of Fox News-$US 19.9 million (2008 Nielson ratings for Fox News in a country of 300 million people: 8000 viewers in the day-20,000 viewers in prime nightime)

News Corp shares...plummetted 54% in 2008.

as my broker said.."built on a sea of debt..avoid them like the plague."

[Bob]

How we allow CEO's to make millions (or hundreds of millions) of dollars per year is simply beyond me. On top of that, paying some bozo CEO a few hundred million dollars in severance pay after he's been canned for ruining a company is simply insane.
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer (and the middle class is disappearing). In 1990, the average excutive salary was approximately 125 times the average salary of the grunt working for the same company. Supposedly, by 2006 that rose to 490 times the average company salary. Further insanity.

How we allow CEO's to make millions (or hundreds of millions) of dollars per year is simply beyond me. .....

"We" dont' allow it, the shareholders of the companies (represented by the Board of Directors) do. Of course the shareholders are happy as long as the companies are making money and the stock is going up.


...News Corp shares...plummetted 54% in 2008.
OOPS! Well, I guess the shareholders might have something to say about that.
But then as Murdoch is the major shareholder of his own company....
The phrase "hoist by his own petard" comes to mind.


The awful pay ratio Bob points out is quite true and appalling. My personal solution is not to penalize CEOs but to strengthen Trade Unions in this country. The only way the Working Man can make an economically fair wage is through collective bargaining with employers.

(edited for spelling)

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

News Corp is unique in that Rupert Murdoch moved his empire from Adelaide in Australia to the more corporate friendly US state Delaware.

( hence him becoming a US citizen as well..all the Murdoch family have various nationalities. Lachlan Murdoch-US born and raised is an Australian citizen..James Murdoch..Australian born and raised is a British ciitizen..former wife Anna Murdoch ( who still controls a swag of her sons voting rights ) is Estonian born and holds joint British /US citizenship. No loyalty to any land-whatever is necessary to control the board)

This also allows him to gerrymander shareholder voting over the majority shareholders in News Corp-huge supperannuation funds who are normally extremely prudent about such huge salaries and are becoming increasingly impatient with Murdoch.

the memory of Robert Maxwell is beginning to emerge.