Executive Compensation Critics have charged that compensation to top management in the United States is simply too high and should be cut back. For example, focusing on large corporations, Larry Ellison of Oracle has been one of the best-compensated CEOs in the United States, earning about $41 million in 2004 alone and $836 million over the 2000–2004 period.

Are such amounts excessive? In answering, it might be helpful to recognize that superstar athletes such as Tiger Woods, top entertainers such as Mel Gibson and Oprah Winfrey, and many others at the top of their respective fields earn at least as much, if not a great deal more. LO.1