Michael Eisner, Disney Bonus Baby
Despite a year in which Michael Eisner barely staved off a revolt by bloodthirsty shareholders desperate to mount his head on a pike outside of the Magic Kingdom and in which he had to testify in court about his doomed relationship with former "life partner" Michael Ovitz, the embattled Disney CEO did pretty well for himself. The company awarded Eisner a $7.25 million "bonus," which seems a lot like a payoff for finally getting him to announce his (eventual) resignation. Or, perhaps, it's a bribe by his number two for an implicit endorsement:
The board is expected to name a new CEO by June, and [President and COO Robert] Iger is viewed as a leading contender. In a photograph in the company's annual report, also released Thursday, Iger is shown front and center with a team of executives posing at Disneyland. Eisner is conspicuously absent.
For $10 million, Eisner would've posed with Iger kicking him in the ass; for $20 million, well, let's just say that the resulting photo would've wound up in the Velvet Mafia's Christmas card.