Grasso Joins Ranks of Super Rich

Updated from 2:14 p.m. EDT

Many executives have seen their paychecks squeezed in the new era of corporate responsibility. Not so for Richard Grasso, the chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange.

Not only has the NYSE extended Grasso's employment contract until 2007, it also has awarded him an eye-popping $139.5 million in deferred compensation.

Grasso will earn an annual base salary of $1.4 million with a possible $1 million annual bonus under the new contract.

But his real payday stems from a NYSE decision to restructure his deferred compensation and retirement and savings plan. The upshot is Grasso gets $40 million from his savings account, $51.6 million in retirement benefits and $47.9 million in previously earned incentive awards -- all right now.

Filthy

At $140 million, Grasso's fortune now compares favorably to the market cap of at least 160 stocks that trade on the NYSE. He's worth more than Trump Hotel & Casino(DJT Quote), Luby's(LUB Quote) and Foster Wheeler(FWC Quote).

Ann Yeager, deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors, said the disclosure about the compensation package raises more questions than it answers. She said investors would demand a public company provide more information than the NYSE is offering.

"It's huge and you just don't know how anyone could get at that number, despite his long tenure at the exchange," said Yeager.

Grasso, 57, has been with the NYSE for 36 years and became chairman in 1995. The press release announcing the contract extension and pay package did not say why the Big Board was distributing the deferred compensation now.