5. Freddie Mac (FRE) has a new CEO as of October—Charles Halderman. As the former chairman of Putnam Investment Management, he almost certainly became wealthy. According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Fannie Mae’s CEO, Michael Williams, and Haldeman each received $900,000 in salary for 2009. Each man got $3.1 million in “deferred salary” that was paid out in four cash installment last year. “This compensation is coming in the form of payments that they are more likely to get, without much risk,” Kevin J. Murphy, a professor at the University of Southern California, told the Associated Press. The two agencies received a total $110.6 billion in taxpayer money in 2009.
6. Fannie Mae (read above)
7. Blockbuster (BBI) CEO James Keyes made $8.4 million in the company’s last fiscal year. The movie rental company is teetering on the brink of Chapter 11. Keyes made none of the critical strategic moves that could have built revenue around internet streaming rentals, DVDs by mail, or kiosk-based rental services. His decisions, or lack of them, have helped push the firm’s share price from $1.40 last September to $.31. A payment of $1 would be generous.
8. Michael Dell has done a great deal of damage to his company, Dell Computers (DELL), since he took over as CEO from Kevin Rollins in February 2007. Dell had backed Rollins in public right up until the end. The company earned $4.6 million in 2006, Rollins’ last full year. Net income has not matched that level since then. Dell’s shares have fallen about 40% since Rollins left. Apple’s (AAPL) stock is up over 150% during that same period and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) has gained almost 30%. Dell has struggled with customer service problems and an inability to develop a blockbuster product. It has begun to enter the smartphone market—too late. Mr. Dell owns 226 million shares of his company which is over 11% of the outstanding shares. He made $2.2 million last year, hardly reasonable for a man who has done a great deal to ruin his firm’s chances to compete effectively with its largest competitors.