Jobs are still hard to come by even as the economy begins to bounce back, and hanging onto a job seems even more important.
These former CEOs, however, were let go with severance packages most of us can only dream about.
Here’s the top 10 golden parachutes since the start of the millennium.
#10: Tom Ryan, former CEO of CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), receiving $185,415,435 in severance.
The FTC had been looking into the company, concerned about “anticompetitive” practices. Just last week the FTC found and settled an instance of misleading pricing.
#9: Hank McKinnel of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) makes the list with a package worth $188,329,553. During his 5 years with the company, Pfizer lost nearly $140 billion. Yet the former CEO still walked away with an enormous sum.
#8: Former IBM (NYSE: IBM) CEO Lou Gerstner is still smiling after 9 years with the company, he left with $189,005,929.
Gerstner is credited with reviving the company from its downward trend during his time in charge. But he’s also still receiving huge perks from the company including IBM-funded transportation that could be sourced elsewhere.
#7: Fred Hassan walked away from his time as CEO of Schering-Plough/Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) with $189,352,324.
In Schering-Plough’s merger with Merck & Co, he also received $59 million, benefitting personally from company moves.
#6: John Kanas, former CEO of North Fork Bank in Long Island, was given $214,300,000 after he left the New York bank. He oversaw the bank’s sale to Capital One Financial(NYSE: COF) in 2006.
#5: Bob Nardelli was sent on his way after 6 years as CEO of Home Depot (NYSE: HD). He did manage to nab $223,290,123 to go.
The company fell consistently under his tenure, and investors were furious to see his salary remain incredibly high. Shareholders were furious over the package he walked away with.
#4: AT&T’s (NYSE: T) Ed Whitacre can't complain. He left with a package worth $230,048,463 and, like others, a number of company perks including access to a private company jet. And don't forget he is the former General Motors CEO, with a hefty sum coming from them as well.
#3: Bill McGuire of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) comes near the top of the list despite the problems he caused the insurance group and still received a severance of $285,996,009.
He was found guilty of backdating stock options to make extra money, and he was fined for his infraction and forced to leave. But he managed to still profit heavily.
#2: Lee Raymond, former CEO of Exxon (NYSE: XOM), received $320,599,861 upon leaving the the oil giant.
Though he was called “unrepentant on global warming” by Greenpeace researcher Kert Davies, for Exxon, he was an asset. He played a huge role in boosting company profits during his tenure.
#1: Topping the list is Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (NYSE: GE) who retired in 2001. Welch received $417,361,902 from the company as he left it behind.
But on top of that, he received post-retirement perks from the company valued at around $2 million and including an apartment near Central Park, seats at sporting events, and maid services. He gave up these perks after his wife’s divorce filings prompted SEC inquiries.
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