DSBPI loves this quote from the NYT regarding Richard A. Grasso's (head of NYSE) $140mm payday:

"This is a phenomenal, unrisked return for the head of a quasi-public organization," said Charles M. Elson, chairman of the corporate governance program at the University of Delaware. "Its really a staggering sum because it's cash that was never at risk. It's mind-boggling, more of an entrepreneur's fortune and may well be more than the earnings of some of the companies that trade on the exchange."