According to the Oct 30, 2006 issue of BusinessWeek, CEOs make an average annual salary of $10.5 million, or 369 times the annual salary of the average worker at $28,310.

That’s about what Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling is paying his lawyer, David Petrocelli, for legal fees over the last 5 years. According to BusinessWeek, Skilling put $23 million in a trust for legal fees. Petrocelli then got an additional $17 million from insurers for liability coverage. And Petrocelli’s law firm, O’Melveny & Myers, is billing an additional $30 million for the rest of the team of 12 lawyers, 5 paralegals, and at least a dozen temporary staffers.

Petrocelli bills at $800/hour. I guess we’ll see just what that has bought Skilling come Monday (Oct 23) when he’s scheduled to be sentenced… though I’d be very surprised if his last Hail Mary attempt will work.

Perhaps one might even say that Ken Lay got the better deal. On Oct 17, a federal judge voided his conviction for fraud and conspiracy since he died before his appeal was heard. That means his estate gets to keep the $40+ million that the feds were trying to seize and he has a clean record.

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Categories: Current Events