The Other Side of the $1 Salary

Lee Iaccoca

This $1 salary is nothing new for the automakers. Back when Chrysler was foundering in the late 1970s, Lee Iaccoca, the company's then CEO, accepted a $1 salary as the automaker pushed Congress for a bailout package, which it ultimately received.

When Mulally joined Ford in September 2006, he earned $1 as CEO. But he didn't go home empty handed that year. Mulally took in $7.9 million that year, according to the Corporate Library.

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And Chrysler's Nardelli already gets a $1 salary and does not get any health care, insurance or other similar benefits from the company, according to Chrysler.

Steve Jobs

Then there is Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Since he rejoined the company in 1997, Jobs has taken a $1 salary.

But don't feel so bad for the man behind the iPod, iPhone, Mac and a host of other gadgets. Jobs has earned millions of dollars in stock options and his contract includes all sorts of other perks, including a company jet.

For instance, in August 2007, Jobs exercised a stock option on 120,000 shares that were awarded to him in 1997 and were about to expire. His gain: $14.6 million.

And there are plenty more shares of Apple stock at his disposal.

In the last decade he has accumulated nearly 5.6 million shares of company stock. At today's share price, that's nearly $500 million worth of stock.

Jobs was also given a Gulfstream V jet by the company in 2000. The cost: $90 million. And when Jobs uses the jet for business, Apple pays him for use of the plane. In 2007, those payments came to $776,000.

In March, Apple shareholders voted to gain a bit more control over the pay of Jobs and other executives. Shareholders approved a "Say on Pay" proposal submitted by the AFL-CIO Reserve Fund that asks the board to allow shareholders to vote on executive pay.

After the vote, Jobs said jokingly: "I hope Say on Pay will help me with my $1 a year salary," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.