Tales of the pampered 1% who run our big corporations have reached a new level of absurdity. A CEO at Duke Energy was paid $44 Million for a single day's work.
CEO-for-a-day parachutes out of Duke Energy with $44 million
By Tiffany Hsu
July 6, 2012, 10:18 a.m.
For one day’s work, $44 million is a pretty sizable paycheck.
For a few hours this week, William D. Johnson served as chief executive of Duke Energy Corp. before resigning. His departure package could include $7.4 million in severance, relocation expenses and more, according to a securities filing.
Johnson, formerly CEO of Progress Energy Inc., signed a contract on June 27 to head up Duke for three years. He assumed the position on July 2, when a long-planned, multibillion-dollar merger between Progress and Duke, an electric utility focused in the Southeast, went into effect.
The buyout made Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke the largest power company in the country.
By the next day, through “mutual agreement,” he was out of the C-suite, replaced by Duke’s former chief James Rogers. On a conference call, Duke executives declined to discuss the rationale for Johnson's departure.
William D. Johnson got $7.4 million in severance, relocation expenses FOR ONE DAY'S WORK? Did Johnson get relocation expenses after a couple of nights in a penthouse suite?
Are they kidding? Unfortunately not. The top 0.001%, the Corporate Aristocracy play by a very different set of rules from the ones the rest of Americans get from their employers. A WalMart Clerk in North Carolina makes $12.58 per hour for a gross of $100.64 for a day's work. William Johnson made 440,000 times as much for his day's work.