Even when they fail, executives concentrate wealth

Title: What Would He Get Paid If the Stock Had Gone Up?
Source: Forbes
Date: April 22, 2004

From the article:

When John Zeglis took over AT&T Wireless in 1999, it was the country's premier cell phone company. Its record-setting public offering raised $10.6 billion. Four years later the company was so battered that in February it became a meal for Cingular, a competitor that didn't even exist back then.

The article notes that "on Zeglis' watch the company's market value still fell by $29 billion." In addition, AT&T Wireless lost 367,000 customers in the first quarter of 2004.

What did Zeglis get in return for this massive drop in value?

• $14 million from stock options that vested immediately
• A $7.4 million severance package

19 other executives received a combined $39 million from stock and $23 million from severance. These massive payments (even for poor performance) are a key feature of the concentration of wealth.