Most CEOs chair board: Spencer Stuart Board Index 2009, p. 20.
Board selection: Ownership and Control, Margaret Blair, p. 79.
Almost impossible: Ownership and Control, Blair, p. 79.
Ignore votes: "Commentary: How Shareholder Votes Are Legally Rigged," Louise Lavelle, BusinessWeek, May 20, 2002. This is a succinct statement of the problem. Since it was written, there have been no large-scale or substantive changes.
Set pay packages: The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation, Bruce Eilig, p. 579.
CEO Salary: Politifact.com. This figure was frequently misinterpreted by politicians and the media. Politifact sorted through the charges and got to the base data.
10% of all net profits: Harvard Professor Lucian Bebchuk and Cornell Prof. Yaniv Grinstein. 2005. The Growth of Executive Pay, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21(2): 283-303.
Female directors: Spencer Stuart Board Index 2009, p. 9
85%: Spencer Stuart Board Index 2009, p. 9
2.5 days a month: National Association of Corporate Directors, 2009 Annual Survey.
$212,750: Spencer Stuart Board Index 2009, p. 33. We strongly believe that some directors should be paid more than this average. In our book we recommend the creation of a new set of full-time, specially trained directors who would upgrade the performance of the two to three boards each joins.
Shareholder wealth losses: Losses are calculated from the market capitalization high prior to recent drop to the final level at sale, government takeover or bailout, bankruptcy, or CEO resignation.
$7 trillion: The Stock Slump of 2008: Wrecking Ball to Wealth," Washington Post, January 11, 2009.
Credits:
Direction, cinematography and editing: Jay Gillespie - forjaygillespie@gmail.com; Writing: John Gillespie and David Zweig; Lighting tech: Ted King; Chairman: John Gillespie; Slot machines: Bob Levy www.antiqueslotmachines.com; Cigar: Montecristo #1.
One cigar (but no money) was destroyed in the production of this video.
