From 24/7 Wall St.

The appointment of former politicians to large public companies’ boards is regularly called into question. Just recently, following the scandal at Chesapeake Energy when CEO Aubrey McClendon made investments in drilling projects in which the company was involved, the issue was in the limelight again. Chesapeake, based in Oklahoma, has two powerful politicians on its board — former member of the Senate from Oklahoma, Don Nickles, and former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating. The company’s board members used the company’s private planes for travel — a perk most governance experts frown on. Perhaps the more salient question is why the two have stayed on the board under the current circumstances. It is equally reasonable to ask why politicians, with their backgrounds unrelated to running big companies, were even appointed to the board.

Many other politicians sit on the boards of America’s largest public companies, and some aspects of their services raise troubling issues. Some are successful lobbyists because of their Washington connections. These firms could work for causes or companies that do not have identical interests to those of the corporations of the boards on which they sit. There are questions about the past ethical behavior of others of these board members. In most cases, the former politicians have no obvious backgrounds to be on public companies’ boards. A final problem is that some have done very well financially because they sit on several boards — another practice many corporate governance experts oppose.

The common thread among the directors on this list is that they have been paid very well in their roles. Most make over a quarter of a million dollars a year. Most also have stock ownerships or grants that add substantially to those payments and are usually in the millions of dollars.

24/7 Wall St. examined the boards of the largest 100 public companies in America based on sales to find politicians who are current and recently past members. To qualify, a person must be a former governor, Senator, or member of the House of Representatives. We scrutinized their past records in elected office , their current jobs, and their qualifications to be public company directors.

Research firm GMI Ratings was critical in supporting us with research for much of our analysis. Securities held by these board members at the corporations they serve include stock ownership, securities that can be acquired, exercisable options and deferred stock units. All data are from the most recent proxies.

This article should provide shareholders of public companies, both institutional and individual ones, with some guidance about why politicians are chosen for boards. It should also tell the extent to which these individuals are qualified, both ethically and in terms of work experience, to effectively do their jobs.

Here are the companies politicians go to, to get rich, according to 24/7 Wall St:

Loading Slideshow...

  • Chevron

    <strong>Board member:</strong> Chuck Hagel <strong>Board compensation:</strong> $301,199 <strong>Director since: </strong>2010 <strong>Primary job:</strong> Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University and chairman of think-tank Atlantic Council Common stock ownership: 3,046 shares <strong>Government service: </strong>U.S. Senator from Nebraska (1997 to 2009) Read more at <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTpidFZu" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • General Electric

    <strong>Board member</strong>: Sam Nunn <strong>Board compensation:</strong> $312,793 <strong>Director since:</strong> 1997 <strong>Primary job:</strong> Co-chairman and chief executive officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative Common stock ownership: GE stock-based: 273,878 shares <strong>Government service:</strong> U.S. Senator from Georgia (1972 to 1997) Read more at <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTqC3Cac" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • Ford

    <strong>Board member:</strong> Richard A. Gephardt <strong>Board compensation:</strong> $224,455 <strong>Director since:</strong> 2009 <strong>Primary job:</strong> Gephardt Government Affairs Common stock ownership: 32,346 shares <strong>Government service:</strong> U.S. House of Representative from Missouri (1976 - Jan 2005) <strong>Board member:</strong> Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. <strong>Board compensation: </strong>New director <strong>Director since:</strong> February 2012 <strong>Primary job:</strong> Chairman of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation <strong>Common stock ownership:</strong> 0 <strong>Government service:</strong> Governor of Utah (2005 to 2009) Read more at <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTqhWTYY" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • JPMorgan Chase

    <strong>Board member:</strong> William H. Gray III <strong>Board compensation:</strong> $266,250 <strong>Director since:</strong> 1992, stepped down at last annual meeting <strong>Primary job:</strong> Chairman of government lobbying and advisory firm Gray Global Strategies <strong>Common stock ownership:</strong> 89,061 shares <strong>Government service:</strong> U.S. House of Representative from Pennsylvania (1978 to 1991) Read more at <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTrlGz4T" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • Apple

    Board member: Al Gore Board compensation: $260,729 Director since: 2003 Primary job: executive chairman of Current TV since 2002, chairman of Generation Investment Management since 2004 and a partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers since 2007 Common stock ownership: 100,971 shares Government service: U.S. Vice President (1993 to 2001) Read more at <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTsBWsjO" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • Pfizer

    > Board member: William H. Gray III > Board compensation: $299,773 > Director since: 2000 > Primary job: Chairman of the government lobbying and advisory firm Gray Global Strategies > Common stock ownership: 105,476 shares > Government Service: U.S. House of Representative from Pennsylvania (1978 to 1991) Read more at <a href=" http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTsXZO53" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • Dell

    <strong>Board member:</strong> William H. Gray III <strong>Board compensation: </strong>$300,934 <strong>Director since:</strong> 2000 <strong>Primary job:</strong> Chairman of the government lobbying and advisory firm Gray Global Strategies <strong>Common stock ownership: </strong>87,009 <strong>Government service:</strong> U.S. House of Representative from Pennsylvania (1978 to 1991) <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTsspUPD" target="_hplink">Read more at 24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • Prudential

    Board member: Gaston Caperton Board compensation: $240,000 Director since: 2004 Primary job: President of the College Board since 1999, retires in June 2012 Common stock ownership: 15,251 Government service: Governor of West Virginia (1988 to 1996) <strong>Board member:</strong> William H. Gray, III <strong>Board compensation:</strong> $255,000 <strong>Director since:</strong> January 2001 (director of Prudential Insurance since September 1991) <strong>Primary job:</strong> Chairman of the government lobbying and advisory firm Gray Global Strategies <strong>Common stock ownership: </strong>26,824 <strong>Government service: </strong>U.S. House of Representative from Pennsylvania (1978 to 1991) Read more: Politicians Go to These Companies to Get Rich - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTv5ZnQB Read more at <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/#ixzz1wTuJwENQ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>

  • Honeywell

    <strong>Board member</strong>: Judd Gregg <strong>Board compensation:</strong> $401,514 <strong>Director since: </strong>2011 <strong>Primary job:</strong> International adviser to the Goldman Sachs <strong>Common stock ownership:</strong> 6,901 <strong>Government service:</strong> U.S. Senator from New Hampshire (1993 to 2011) Read more at <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/05/30/politicians-go-to-these-companies-to-get-rich/3/" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St.</a>