And the Winners Are ...

Here's our list of the 100 best-paid GCs ranked by cash compensation -- salary plus bonus -- in fiscal year 2001.

					2001 Cash Compensation			Stock	Total Take Home	Value of Equity
Rank 2001	Rank 2000*	Company	State	General Counsel	Salary +	Bonus =	Total Cash +	Value Realized =	Total Cash Plus Stock Value Realized	Option Grants†	Exercisable Options
1	3	General Electric Co.	CT	Benjamin Heineman Jr.	$1,250,000	$2,225,000	$3,475,000	$0	$3,475,000	$4,814,974	$31,798,051
2	5	Cablevision Systems Corp.	NY	Robert Lemle	1,000,000	1,875,000	2,875,000	9,857,104	12,732,104	0	5,280,048
3	11	Cendant Corp.	NY	James Buckman	750,000	1,400,000	2,150,000	6,118,948	8,268,948	4,680,000	16,818,165
4	8	Philip Morris Companies Inc.1	NY	Charles Wall	778,500	1,025,000	1,803,500	646,875	2,450,375	3,932,038	11,647,202
5	7	Viacom Inc.	NY	Michael Fricklas	848,750	800,000	1,648,750	321,500	1,970,250	1,798,725	3,416,344
6	--	WellPoint Health Networks Inc.	CA	Thomas Geiser	473,770	998,213	1,471,983	0	1,471,983	2,258,292	5,473,489
7	23	El Paso Corp.	TX	Britton White Jr.2	502,088	935,000	1,437,088	294,788	1,731,876	6,594,687	4,721,869
8	16	Wyeth3	NJ	Louis Hoynes Jr.	640,000	740,000	1,380,000	3,130,137	4,510,137	3,031,560	3,420,543
9	--	The Coca-Cola Co.	GA	Deval Patrick	359,583	995,000	1,354,583	0	1,354,583	19,433,250	0
10	15	American Financial Group Inc.	OH	James Evans	950,000	400,000	1,350,000	0	1,350,000	0	95,100
11	66	FPL Group Inc.	FL	Dennis Coyle	463,700	855,736	1,319,436	0	1,319,436	1,023,000	0
12	112	Capital One Financial Corp.	VA	John Finneran Jr.	363,333	940,000	1,303,333	15,530,142	16,833,475	8,595,749	2,069,466
13	--	Smithfield Foods Inc.	VA	Richard Poulson	450,000	850,000	1,300,000	0	1,300,000	831,399	0
14	21	SBC Communications Inc.	TX	James Ellis	722,000	560,000	1,282,000	0	1,282,000	4,531,000	4,258,828
15	38	Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.	NY	John McGoldrick	712,000	521,626	1,233,626	0	1,233,626	2,238,176	17,033,354
16	18	Owens Corning	OH	Maura Abeln Smith	500,000	727,000	1,227,000	0	1,227,000	1,096,594	0
17	--	The Home Depot Inc.	GA	Frank Fernandez	444,230	775,000	1,219,230	0	1,219,230	9,716,736	0
18	56	Tenet Healthcare Corp.	CA	Christi Sulzbach	410,000	791,404	1,201,404	7,250,747	8,452,151	2,705,088	0
19	--	Conseco Inc.	IN	David Herzog	600,000	600,000	1,200,000	0	1,200,000	153,300	0
20	--	Phillips Petroleum Co.	OK	J. Bryan Whitworth	492,823	680,089	1,172,912	0	1,172,912	1,580,421	695,787
21	13	Park Place Entertainment Corp.	NV	Clive Cummis4	650,000	520,000	1,170,000	299,213	1,469,213	2,043,908	534,000
22	79	Union Pacific Corp.	NE	Carl von Bernuth	421,900	700,000	1,121,900	729,248	1,851,148	457,901	5,174,403
23	132	Aon Corp.	IL	Raymond Skilling	560,930	545,000	1,105,930	477,045	1,582,975	531,698	1,859
24	28	Occidental Petroleum Corp.	CA	Donald de Brier	551,000	550,000	1,101,000	0	1,101,000	3,364,587	2,669,129
24	--	Anthem Inc.	IN	David Frick	410,000	691,000	1,101,000	0	1,101,000	0	0
26	14	Amerada Hess Corp.	NY	J. Barclay Collins II	650,000	450,000	1,100,000	585,605	1,685,605	1,155,000	1,213,605
27	117	The First American Financial Corp.	CA	Craig DeRoy	390,924	700,000	1,090,924	15,556	1,106,480	284,260	842,279
28	35	Centex Corp.	TX	Raymond Smerge	342,000	700,000	1,042,000	962,063	2,004,063	1,153,690	1,520,252
29	84	J.C. Penney Co. Inc.	TX	Charles Lotter	603,015	437,186	1,040,201	0	1,040,201	460,980	0
30	--	Conoco Inc.5	TX	Rick Harrington	360,520	650,000	1,010,520	0	1,010,520	2,040,763	4,322,234
31	--	The Walt Disney Co.	CA	Louis Meisinger	700,000	300,000	1,000,000	884,055	1,884,055	1,566,000	0
32	33	FedEx Corp.	TN	Kenneth Masterson	670,380	327,985	998,365	0	998,365	905,608	6,404,276
33	42	Golden State Bancorp	CA	Christie Flanagan	700,000	294,025	994,025	0	994,025	236,827	132,454
34	55	MGM Mirage	NV	Gary Jacobs	484,614	500,000	984,614	0	984,614	0	0
35	25	John Hancock Financial Services Inc.	MA	Wayne Budd	500,000	480,000	980,000	0	980,000	2,699,478	0
36	68	SPX Corp.	MI	Christopher Kearney	350,000	626,821	976,821	773,900	1,750,721	2,117,273	1,867,343
37	41	Caremark Rx Inc.	AL	Edward Hardin Jr.	488,885	475,000	963,885	0	963,885	623,077	5,763,398
38	39	Sempra Energy	CA	John Light	432,999	519,600	952,599	0	952,599	931,359	359,315
39	36	Halliburton Co.	TX	Lester Coleman	475,008	475,008	950,016	875,135	1,825,151	686,401	0
40	24	Aetna Inc.	CT	L. Edward Shaw Jr.	525,000	420,000	945,000	0	945,000	695,566	1,806,572
41	169	Federal Mogul Corp.	MI	James Zamoyski	343,263	592,100	935,363	0	935,363	35,771	0
42	44	Masco Corp.	MI	John Leekley	665,000	266,000	931,000	1,073,000	2,004,000	0	2,152,000
43	37	R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc.	NC	Charles Blixt	495,833	431,000	926,833	0	926,833	1,135,313	732,842
44	48	Dynegy Inc.	TX	Kenneth Randolph	372,000	550,000	922,000	0	922,000	2,711,060	4,253,010
45	104	Fidelity National Financial Inc.	CA	Peter Sadowski	310,500	600,000	910,500	118,502	1,029,002	441,372	438,108
46	--	Valero Energy Corp.	TX	Gregory King	395,841	500,000	895,841	57,316	953,157	349,530	1,379,393
47	81	The Williams Companies Inc.	OK	William von Glahn	440,654	454,700	895,354	0	895,354	725,447	306,849
48	170	Edison International	CA	Bryant Danner	470,600	424,200	894,800	756,728	1,651,528	2,766,768	22,900
48	19	Lincoln National Corp.	PA	Jack Hunter6	465,000	429,800	894,800	2,121,122	3,015,922	1,239,819	2,205,425
50	74	First Data Corp.	CO	Michael Whealy	443,462	420,000	863,462	1,495,144	2,358,606	1,179,885	7,354,939
51	67	Tesoro Petroleum Corp.	TX	James Reed Jr.	401,539	450,000	851,539	0	851,539	0	390,619
52	--	USA Education Inc.7	VA	Marianne Keler	300,000	550,000	850,000	7,284,351	8,134,351	6,572,816	4,048,035
53	62	Tricon Global Restaurants Inc.	WA	Christian Campbell	448,846	400,950	849,796	0	849,796	577,280	0
54	--	Energy East Corp.	NY	Kenneth Jasinski8	425,000	422,763	847,763	0	847,763	639,110	14,667
55	--	Waste Management Inc.	TX	Lawrence O'Donnell, III9	511,250	324,800	836,050	0	836,050	2,642,458	1,342,906
56	100	UnumProvident Corp.	TN	F. Dean Copeland	380,000	450,000	830,000	599,815	1,429,815	1,151,749	0
57	58	State Street Corp.	MA	Maureen Scannell Bateman	485,011	339,750	824,761	0	824,761	2,000,432	2,226,714
58	--	Alltel Corp.	AR	Francis Frantz	450,000	360,000	810,000	1,451,750	2,261,750	4,695,350	4,038,620
59	72	Honeywell International Inc.	NJ	Peter Kreindler	495,000	310,000	805,000	0	805,000	2,764,000	0
60	--	Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.	FL	E. Ellis Zahra Jr.10	327,000	472,216	799,216	0	799,216	439,017	384,695
61	64	Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.	MN	John Ursu	459,600	327,094	786,694	926,354	1,713,048	1,505,167	1,187,174
62	125	Campbell Soup Co.	NJ	Ellen Oran Kaden	431,667	353,604	785,271	0	785,271	0	0
63	110	Burlington Resources Inc.	TX	L. David Hanower	365,040	415,416	780,456	368,380	1,148,836	516,637	66,788
64	63	United Parcel Service Inc.	GA	Joseph Moderow	531,500	248,797	780,297	1,360,060	2,140,357	1,147,525	0
65	89	Emcor Group Inc.	CT	Sheldon Cammaker	400,000	377,636	777,636	0	777,636	464,434	2,933,830
66	85	General Dynamics Corp.	VA	David Savner	365,000	410,000	775,000	0	775,000	664,935	2,296,826
67	65	Georgia-Pacific Corp.	GA	James Kelley	470,000	300,000	770,000	567,042	1,337,042	560,763	39,270
68	--	Dow Chemical Co.	MI	Richard Manetta	190,962	565,000	755,962	0	755,962	2,055,659	108,342
69	--	Baker Hughes Incorporated	TX	Alan Crain Jr.	364,071	370,224	734,295	0	734,295	673,636	6,942
70	--	Textron Inc.	RI	Terrance O'Donnell	440,000	287,896	727,896	0	727,896	0	0
71	--	American Electric Power Co Inc.	OH	Susan Tomasky11	410,000	300,365	710,365	0	710,365	0	0
72	--	Exelon Corp.	IL	Randall Mehrberg	375,000	332,700	707,700	0	707,700	0	0
73	99	American Standard Companies Inc.	NJ	J. Paul McGrath	400,000	300,000	700,000	0	700,000	1,779,127	1,281,139
74	30	Advanced Micro Devices Inc.	CA	Thomas McCoy	606,747	86,153	692,900	1,527,485	2,220,385	1,625,654	864,250
75	201	The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.	OH	C. Thomas Harvie	410,000	271,408	681,408	0	681,408	443,840	44,235
76	--	Aramark Corp.	PA	Bart Colli	368,500	300,000	668,500	80,550	749,050	118,680	0
77	--	Dole Food Company Inc.	CA	C. Michael Carter	380,000	285,000	665,000	0	665,000	253,000	545,304
78	--	Fluor Corp.	CA	Lawrence Fisher	420,000	244,800	664,800	3,868,202	4,533,002	596,211	51,450
79	--	The Gillette Co.	MA	Richard Willard	510,000	150,000	660,000	0	660,000	1,599,707	52,799
80	145	Murphy Oil Corp.	AR	Steven Cosse	356,250	300,000	656,250	662,606	1,318,856	432,000	1,045,125
81	--	Avon Products Inc.	NY	Gilbert Klemann II	400,000	252,950	652,950	0	652,950	600,000	0
82	130	Consolidated Edison Inc.	NY	John McMahon	379,617	270,000	649,617	0	649,617	209,200	42,690
83	--	Foot Locker Inc.	NY	Gary Bahler	387,500	259,636	647,136	118,587	765,723	455,100	196,078
84	171	Premcor Inc.	MO	Jeffry Quinn	297,981	344,500	642,481	0	642,481	0	0
85	--	Office Depot Inc.	FL	David Fannin	400,000	240,000	640,000	102,780	742,780	214,025	299,476
86	108	General Mills Inc.	MN	Siri Marshall	320,000	315,500	635,500	0	635,500	2,847,142	2,588,527
87	54	Marriott International Inc.	MD	Joseph Ryan	491,192	142,692	633,884	1,032,935	1,666,819	1,248,000	2,871,465
88	159	Progress Energy Inc.	NC	William Johnson	378,776	255,000	633,776	0	633,776	1,162,402	N/A
89	115	Qwest Communications	CO	Drake Tempest	396,154	234,434	630,588	2,588,126	3,218,714	6,343,031	0
90	--	Jefferson Pilot Corp.	NC	John David Hopkins	400,000	225,000	625,000	588,918	1,213,918	1,008,900	2,701,599
90	85	Equity Office Properties Trust	IL	Stanley Stevens	400,000	225,000	625,000	0	625,000	327,750	2,155,750
92	224	NTL Incorporated	NY	Richard Lubasch	233,692	384,875	618,567	0	618,567	0	0
93	109	ITT Industries Inc.	NY	Vincent Maffeo	368,415	247,165	615,580	1,228,663	1,844,243	556,080	3,100,820
94	203	Saks, Incorporated	AL	Brian Martin	550,000	61,875	611,875	0	611,875	99,800	23,100
95	177	Smith International Inc.	TX	Neal Sutton	345,000	262,400	607,400	0	607,400	736,870	751,231
96	--	Hilton Hotels Corp.	CA	Madeleine Kleiner	384,872	220,000	604,872	0	604,872	0	55,375
97	194	Tenneco Automotive Inc.	IL	Timothy Donovan	401,624	203,197	604,821	0	604,821	122,000	0
98	88	Avery Dennison Corp.	CA	Robert van Schoonenberg	421,667	181,200	602,867	1,219,200	1,822,067	866,223	1,635,739
99	142	Harley-Davidson Inc.	WI	Gail Lione	280,194	315,218	595,412	1,804,769	2,400,181	768,556	1,958,218
100	132	PPG Industries Inc.	PA	James Diggs	350,000	240,000	590,000	0	590,000	1,108,100	0
Research by Rosemarie Clancy Benali with assistance from Melissa Buonagura, Esther Chung, and Austin Shau.
* Dash (–-) means no rank last year.
† Italics indicate that the value of option grants was calculated by the company using the Black-Scholes method. All other option grants were valued using a standard 5 percent appreciation formula.
1 Proposed name change to Altria Group.
2 Retired 12/01.
3 Name changed from American Home Products.
4 Resigned 12/01.
5 Company to merge with Phillips Petroleum Co. to form ConocoPhillips.
6 Retired 3/02.
7 Name changed to SLM Corp. 5/02.
8 Promoted to CFO 2/02.
9 Promoted to EVP 7/01.
10 Resigned 3/02.
11 Promoted to CFO and EVP 11/01.
(Corporate Counsel, August 2002)