American CEOs earn plenty more than their Cdn. counterparts
You might think CEOs are all part of the same posh fraternity, but in fact the pay scale for chief execs differs greatly between nations.
In Canada, for instance, CEOs are festooned with riches – the average compensation among the top 100 paid chief execs equals 189 times what the typical Canadian earns each year – but how does pay stack up with top businessmen and women south of the border?
Compensation data out of the U.S. was released today, and on average terms, pay discrepancies between Canadian and American CEOs may not strike you.
But work up the list to the highest-paid execs in the U.S., and Canada’s richest CEOs start to look like a bunch of rags.
From data just released by the Associated Press, the typical CEO of a public company in the U.S. earned about $9.6 million in 2011.
*Bing: How to get a raise at work
In Canada, as of the latest figures, the average CEO compensation in 2011 was $8.38 million.
In reality, though, the difference in average pay is likely much greater. That $9.6 million figure from the U.S. is the average of the top 322 highest-paid public company CEOs in the U.S., while Canada’s $8.38 million is the average of just the 100 highest-paid public company CEOs.
Whatever the difference may be, a better indicator still is likely what the top CEOs in each country earn.
Canada’s top active CEO in 2011 was Donald Walker, the boss of Magna International, who took home compensation totalling $16.7 million.
Plenty, right? Perhaps not so when compared to David Simon, the highest-paid American CEO last year. In 2011, Simon, the CEO of shopping mall operator Simon Property, earned total compensation of $137 million. According to the AP, the company paid Simon so much so he wasn’t “lured to another company.”
Further analysis of CEO compensation data also shows what industries each country appears to value most. In the U.S., three of the top five highest-paid CEOs operate television or cable companies, while most of Canada’s top-paid CEOs fall in the mining and banking sectors.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Brent | May 25, 2021 2:43:23 PM
Yes, but in terms of value achieved, in other words performance, I think Canadian CEOs are overpaid. There are lots of perqs in the average case, stock options in preferred shares, a clubbier mentality than exists south of the border, and more aversion to risk. Sometimes aversion to risk is a good thing but there are reasonable ones and unreasonable ones. Even in the mining sector, a lot of big names have headquarters elsewhere- goodbye Inco and many others. You may not think it makes a difference, but now Canada is getting the short end of the stick in some regions while their execs deal with despots and even hirethugs and mercenaries elsewhere.
Entrepreneurs do exist, but often they do not understand the risk of not doing things, like having strong computer security. As well, white collar crime and internet fraud is rampant in Canada. The RCMP lacks the skills needed to investigate complex cases and unless it is prosecuted in the US, chances are it may not even come to light. Remember Bre-X, Hollinger, Worldcom, Livent and many others?
I own mutual funds in which the risk is diversified, and the rate of return is not great, but so far I haven't lost my shirt either. My dad had a few good rules, such as "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is " (too good to be true) or "invest in what you know and understand" and "Don't rely on the government to help you out because one day they may change the rules or not be there" and "Live according to your means, save for a rainy day, and don't invest a lot of time into something unless you are committed" and "never make a deal on a handshake as they are unenforceable by law and read any contract for the fine print".
However, modern living makes it hard, salaries have not kept up, the middle class is hollowed out, and two-parent income is the general rule nowadays. The law has also not kept pace with trends- Canada is often a slow learner, and the diversity so often touted by those cheerleaders for high sustained levels of immigration ignore the fact that they are translating poorly into international sales compared to the US. US execs understand they have to hustle new business, and will hire excellent sales people. But are they backing a reliable product? Also, Canadians are naive when it comes to industrial espionage.
Posted by: pj | May 25, 2021 3:39:45 PM
they should make more then thier conter parts because they have to look after a population of 300 million not 35 million like in Canada.
Posted by: TJ | May 25, 2021 5:03:41 PM
What does population have to do with it. Just because the US has 300 million and we only have 35 million should not dictact how much someone gets paid. The determining factor should based on how many individuals are employed at the company and not the population of an entire country.
Posted by: Mick O'Keeffe | May 26, 2021 11:02:08 AM
Anyone getting more than 5M a year should have the balance ripped out of their greedy,grasping hands by the taxman.
Posted by: SP | May 26, 2021 8:58:46 PM
I have seen very, very few instances where any hired CEO/CFO/VP/President is worth more than $80K/year
Company owner/founder CEO's is another story but seriously, How many of them are there on these lists?