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The CEO
Overpaid, Indeed!
To be fair to the CEO social class, their occupations cannot be filled by people from the street. Most CEOs require a higher education to prepare them for this career. In their junior years, most CEOs have spent many 70+ hours a week to ensure their projects actually work out; without this sacrifice, they don’t rise to higher positions. While working on these projects, most CEOs have gained experience and insights for which many line workers have little appreciation. CEOs have had to make many hard decisions, some of them unpopular. Hopefully they have learned from these decisions before they rose to the big chair. CEOs have had to learn various communication skills — from dealing with media to handling many interruptions throughout the day to deal with many concerns. And a CEO’s world is about sorting out many vested interests, analyzing information, and making adaptations to plans. There is indeed a certain mettle to being a CEO most people don’t have.
But does this mean they are worth $1,000,000 a year (or more)?
About a decade ago, I was investing in blue-chip, dividend-paying Canadian companies. One of the companies had been a solid blue-chip performer in Canadian business for several decades. I bought in at $15 a share and I was getting a dividend significantly better than bank interest.
