The Highest-Paid CEOs In 2008: Who Got The Best Deal? (PHOTOS)

The Highest-Paid CEOs In 2008: Who Got The Best Deal? (PHOTOS)

The economy left a lot of us behind last year. But the CEOs of the world's biggest corporations can rest easy - they certainly did did alright for themselves in 2008. As Reuters reported today, the Blackstone Group's Stephen Schwarzman brought in a pay package worth $700 million, ranking as the best-paid CEO in the U.S. (The vast majority of his pay came in the form of vesting equity from Blackstone's 2007 IPO.)

The company Schawrzman ran, however, lost $1.6 billion last year. This year's list of the top 10 CEO paychecks also includes seven oil and gas execs, who raked in loads cash even as oil prices slumped.

We've compiled a list of America's best-paid CEOs and detailed just how much their companies made or lost last year. (To give you some idea of what effect each CEO has had on their company, we've include net income figures from each company's last fiscal year)

(NOTE: Not included in this list is Mark G. Papa of EOG Resources, who ranked 8th on this year's list with total compensation worth $90 million)

Check our PHOTOS and VOTE for which CEO earned their keep this year.







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