Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s CEO Ray R. Irani is one of thefew CEOs receiving a 20 percent increase in compensation, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Irani earned anestimated $63.5 million in 2007. Criticsclaims that Irani’s success lies in the substantial increase in oil prices forreasons out of his control. Ninetypercent of his compensation was based solely on his performance. Occidental’s spokesman Richard Kline statedthat Irani’s compensation was appropriate since it correlated with the overallsuccess of business. Their record $5.4billion in net income in 2007 was up 29 percent from 2006.