Sunday, May 22, 2005

Oh, to be a board member of a Fortune 1000 firm!

You’re losing money, a lot of money. You’ve asked your employees for concessions. You are at risk of joining some of your competitors in bankruptcy court. Yet, if you're American Airlines, you let your board of directors and their families fly free and even pay the taxes due to such benefits. Does this make sense to you?

One of the directors is Philip Purcell, of Morgan Stanley fame. His travels on Morgan Stanley’s jet were worth over $450,000 last year as reported by Morgan Stanley. Yet, American stockholders paid $14,528 for his travels on American. One director was paid over $60,000 for his travels on the airline.

What’s the second best job in the US? A member of the board of a major corporation.

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