DR Tony O'Reilly, chairman and chief executive of H.J. Heinz, is the fourth highest paid boss in the US, according to a Forbes magazine survey. Forbes is unimpressed, however, commenting that "Tony O'Reilly's ego and paycheck are bigger than his accomplishments".
In Forbes's survey of 800 chief executives taken over five years, Dr O'Reilly's earnings were $119 million (£75.3 million). The average pay for the 800 bosses over the period was $6.9 million (£4.4 million). Dr O'Reilly comfortably outstripped the average, though not as comfortably as the highest paid of all, Mr Mike Eisner of Walt Disney, who took home $233 million (£148 million).
Some of the bosses are worth the money, according to Forbes, but not Dr O'Reilly. "We won't try to justify what H.J. Heinz has paid the flamboyant Anthony O'Reilly since 1991", the magazine says in its current issue.
"Heinz's results have been disappointing over the last several years. Earnings per share have risen an average of 6.5 per cent over the past five years. And during this period Heinz stock has failed to keep pace with the Standard and Poor 500."
Mr Ted Smyth, vice president for corporate affairs with Heinz, told The Irish Times Dr O'Reilly's pay was linked to performance, and most of the $119 million he received in the past five years related to Heinz profit results in the 1980s, which outperformed most of the competition.
Mr Smith drew attention to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal which reported that Dr O'Reilly had proved true to a promise he made two years ago to revive the fortunes of Heinz. "H.J. Heinz chairman's growth prediction comes true," said the headline.
Dr O'Reilly is not the only chief executive to feel the Forbes lash. "To put it mildly, it was pretty poor public relations on the part of AT&T's board to award Robert Allen $6 million right on the heels of announcing the company was about to cut its payroll by 40,000 people through attrition and layoffs."