Sprint execs named 'most overpaid' in 2007

$74m in CEO pay, $29bn in losses

By Austin Modine • Get more from this author

Posted in Financial News, 10th October 2008 23:34 GMT

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Sprint Nextel executives are the most "overpaid" in corporate America, according to a study by investor advisory firm, Glass Lewis & Company.

The mobile communications provider was tapped for the dishonor by having the worst 2007 pay-for-performance rating among the Standard & Poor's 500 index of large companies. Top managers were awarded pay valued at nearly $74m in 2007, despite the company posting a loss of $29bn that year.

Sprint's results were inflated by the severance package of its former CEO Gary Forsee and sign-on package of his replacement, Dan Hesse.

Forsee's golden parachute is worth about $40m total, including a $1.5m salary through 2009, $5m in bonuses, stock options, and restricted shares worth $23m and a $84,000-a-month pension for life. Not bad for four years' work.

Hesse's total compensation in 2007 is valued at about $22.4m, according to Glass Lewis & Co.

Other companies named in the list include home builder KB Home, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and CBS. ®

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