Or maybe certain jobs, like singing and playing a guitar, or bouncing, throwing, running with, or kicking a ball is much harder than heading a company responsible to thousands of employees, thousands of shareholders, millions of consumers can possibly be.
Far be it for me to defend the high salaries of CEOs; after all, I still can’t accept a car costing $25,000 and a hamburger for $5. But there are some things that need to be looked at in perspective.
Top ten highest paid CEOs for 2010 gathered up $364 million!
Wow. That’s a lotta dough. Then again, I did a little poking around (Forbes and other sources) to find this:
Top ten highest paid athletes for 2010: $454 million
Top ten highest paid celebrities* under 30 for 2010: $506 million
Top ten highest paid Hollywood stars for 2010: $413 million
* #6 through #10 were athletes, and while Beyonce topped the list, Miley Cyrus at 17 and Taylor Swift at 19 were in the top five.
Surprising also to find that a top neurosurgeon (U.S. naturally) makes half a million. A top attorney (general counsel in corporate) makes about $4 million. Unless he also sings and plays guitar.
It all comes down to the simple premise of getting paid what the market will bear. Supply and demand. $100 seats for a game or concert, and I guess, $25,000 for a just-okay car.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology