Don't Mind Me, I'll Just Keep Slurping My Top Ramen

Photo by ep_jhu.

I made a brief note of this Capital Business story in today's morning's roundup. But upon further consideration, I felt it necessary to highlight that the guy who runs Discovery Communications made $42.6 million last year.

What precisely did David M. Zaslav do to earn this year's honor as the local CEO with the biggest haul? The Post explains:

That represented a 264 percent increase from 2009.
The bulk of Zaslav’s pay, about 84 percent, was derived from stock and option awards, or equity pay, aligned with the growth of Discovery’s stock. Shares of the Silver Spring-based cable programming giant traded as low as $14 in 2009, but hovered around $42 per share by the close of last year. Profit in 2010 also climbed 19 percent year over year to $653 million.

Discovery, which declined to comment for this story, cited Zaslav’s accomplishments in its proxy statement, including his “success in driving quality content . . . and strong advertising sales that outperformed other major cable groups."

Tripling the company's stock price and increasing profits: yup, that'll do it.

If you really want to be reminded that there were plenty of people who made more money in 2010 than many of us would ever know what to do with, the entire list of the top-earning CEOs can be read below.

Ceo Comp

Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Aaron Morrissey in News on June 20, 2011 10:50 AM

Comments [rss]

Over the River

I think there is a lesson to be learned by that list of top salaries for persons who are interviewing for a new job. Ask to be considered for the position of Chairman and CEO or the President and CEO. These are the positions with the greatest earning power.

Hans Lienesch

Hey nice to see you guys using some of the images from The Ramen Rater [ http://ramenrater.wordpress.co... ] - it's all good! Nice to be noticed :)
- Hans Lienesch
The Ramen Rater

Over the River

We are famous for using images to capture the imagination of the reader. Some times we have to "paint a mental picture" and sometimes the planets and stars line up to present the quintessential graphical representation to capture the essence of our tale. Why just the other day I was reminiscing how we can't bust heads like we used to. But then I remembered we have our ways. One trick is to tell stories that don't go anywhere. Like the time I caught the ferry to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for m'shoe. So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt. Which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Gimme five bees for a quarter, you'd say. Now where was I... oh yeah. The important thing was that I had an onion tied to my belt, which was the style at the time. You couldn't get white onions, because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones..

http://www.internettrader.biz/...

Donna Handley

Ahem. Okay. Regarding the photo used in this story, I feel the need to point out that this is NOT David M. Zaslav you see riding the Metro in a tuxedo with a wad of cash. In fact, this is a picture someone I know, and he's not a billionaire CEO, he's a government employee. So a few things about this.

1. You DID get a photo release from him, right? Right?
2. This man is wearing a tuxedo because he's on his way to perform with a local chorus. So, you know, NOT because it's after 6:00 and he isn't a farmer.
3. When was the last time you saw a billionaire on public transportation, anyway? This isn't Batman Begins!
4. Billionaires don't carry cash. They use American Express, and occasionally they cover minor expenses by selling small subsidiaries.
5. Okay, I don't know WHY he's carrying a wad of cash, but again, this is not typical billionaire behavior.
6. If you really wanted to convey how rich and snobby he is, you should've drawn a little top hat on him.

Over the River

You are funny @google-25829f438888fbb62be500631f27321a:disqus please hang around.

And "he's not a billionaire ... he's a government employee"

Truer words have never been spoken.

doc_trapezoid

Can't he be both?

Over the River

Technically yes he could be both, but I just looked up the following statistic from the Office of Personnel Management:

OPM Analysis of Employee Wealth

Percent of Total Employees by Wealth Indicator

Percent Personal Wealth > $1,000,000,000 --- 0%
Percent Personal Wealth < $1,000,000,000 --- 100%

doc_trapezoid

Ah, stats from the little known Division of Silly Things. DST wouldn't capture my dong rich, cash poor situation. I'm like the Sultan of Brunei.

Over the River

Dong rich, cash poor just sums it up doesn't it?

Donna Handley

If I stick around, will I see a picture of my Aunt Doris used to illustrate a story about how Victoria Beckham Is A Total Bitch?

Over the River

No @google-25829f438888fbb62be500631f27321a:disqus I deleted that photo as it was tasteless. And Ms. Beckham does well enough on her own.Further to that, may I assume your Aunt is really a nice person?

BTW (I meant it about hanging around.)

AMDCer

How is it possible that a guy in a tux is standing on a metro platform holding a wad of cash? Or is this the "before" picture?

Over the River

Wage Earners! How Nouveau Riche

Tim Taylor

if you don't like how much money you're making, do something about it. Don't write about it...

doc_trapezoid

Oh I love this game. If you don't like others writing about not making enough money, do some thing about it. Don't write about it. Ok your turn!

monkeyrotica

Okay. If you don't like others writing about others writing about not making enough money, do something about it.

Did you ever feel like you were the tail end of a human centipede?

doc_trapezoid

Luckily for me, I love digested cuttlefish and asparagus. As someone fixed by the lips to the anus of another terrified captive, it is sometimes the only thing that gets me through the day. That and my shit-eating libertarianism.

Bossi

Last time I tried to do something about it: my nearby Bank of America branch was closed for the rest of the day and I spent a couple hours explaining the misunderstanding to the police.

CJ_Scudworth

And he doesn't even like Grey Poupon.

monkeyrotica

Whoa. You can afford Top Ramen? Maybe on a blogger's salary, but I can barely afford expired QUICKCHOW Brand Instant Pancit Palabok (now with even less Red Tide poisoning).

http://ramenrater.files.wordpr...

monkeyrotica

And, of course, the overpaid squirrels.

schmod

Quality content? Seriously?

mirrorballdc

Can't wait for the show where the family with 18 kids enters them all into beauty pageants and/or sends them off to live in Sarah Palin's Alaska.

monkeyrotica

Shhhh! Gothamist still hopes Discovery Channel will buy them out in a stock swap for whale cake, pitbull-like dogs, and back alley sex-for-crack exchanges. It's the "NEW new economy!"

Over the River

I am absolutely shocked by your post! I can not remember back to a time when you would raise the discussion of back alley sex-for-crack exchanges without providing a link.