Pay czar to probe execs at 419 bailed-out firms

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Government "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg plans to investigate the pay of executives at 419 firms that took TARP money, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Feinberg, the Treasury Department's special master for compensation, will review the bonuses, salaries and other compensation paid to execs at Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), and other companies that received government bailout funds, to determine if any of that pay should be returned.

ken_feinberg3.03.jpg
TARP pay czar Kenneth Feinberg to investigate executive pay at 419 firms, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Feinberg will send a letter Tuesday to 419 bailed-out firms, seeking data on compensation paid to their top 25 executives, The Journal said. The inquiry only covers a small window of time, capturing the 2008 end-of-year bonus season at most big companies.

Feinberg can seek to renegotiate any payments he deems "not in the public interest." Firms that receive TARP money are subject to his pay decisions until their loans are repaid.

Representatives at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley -- another firm that received TARP funds -- did not return CNNMoney's requests for comments.

A Treasury Department spokesperson would not comment on The Journal's report.

Feinberg told reporters at a conference last week that he would unveil his latest rulings about the 25 best-paid executives at five specific companies later this week. The five companies -- General Motors, Chrysler Group, GMAC, Chrysler Financial and AIG -- received "extraordinary" aid under the $700 billion bailout fund.

David Ellis, staff writer, contributed to this story. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.