SAN MATEO, CA — April 12, 2007 — Today, Equilar released the results of its preliminary analysis of S&P 500 CEO compensation trends. The analysis, covering 194 S&P 500 chief executives in place for at least two years at companies filing proxies under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new disclosure rules, finds that CEO pay increased by 6.0 percent, climbing to a median of $8,512,509 in 2006.

Equilar will release additional findings on general compensation trends, proxy disclosure practices and performance-based pay at its 2007 Proxy Season Trends Webcast scheduled for 2pm ET on Wednesday, April 18, 2007. Additional information regarding the Equilar webcast is available online at www.equilar.com.

Total Compensation

In 2006, S&P 500 chief executives in place for at least two years received a median total pay package of $8,512,509. Total compensation is calculated as the sum of base salary, discretionary bonuses, non-equity incentive plan payouts, stock awards, option awards and other compensation. Stock awards include long-term performance shares and units. Option awards include stock appreciation rights (SARs).

Base Salary

From 2005 to 2006, the median base salary for S&P 500 chief executives increased by 0.1 percent, growing from $998,750 to $1,000,000.

Bonus

In 2006, chief executives at S&P 500 companies earned a median bonus of $1,850,900, up 11.1 percent from the median bonus of $1,665,380 in 2005. To make comparisons between 2005 and 2006, fiscal year 2006 bonuses are calculated as the sum of discretionary bonuses and the short-term portion of non-equity incentive plan payouts.

The prevalence of chief executives receiving a bonus increased from 94.8 percent in 2005 to 96.4 percent in 2006. Only 20.1 percent of chief executives received a guaranteed or discretionary bonus in 2006.

The median target bonus for S&P 500 chief executives in 2006 was $1,320,000, or 132.0 percent of the median base salary.

Stock Option Awards

In 2006, chief executives at S&P 500 companies received stock option awards with a median value of $3,247,443, a decline of 7.5 percent from the median grant value of $3,510,809 in 2005. To make comparisons between 2005 and 2006, the values for option awards are estimated using the Black-Scholes methodology.

The prevalence of chief executives receiving stock option awards decreased from 79.9 percent in 2005 to 77.8 percent in 2006. Additionally, the number of options granted fell from a median of 227,130 in 2005 to a median of 210,000 in 2006.

Stock Awards

In 2006, chief executives at S&P 500 companies received stock awards (including long-term performance shares and units) with a median value of $3,147,083, an increase of 11.0 percent over the median grant value of $2,834,974 in 2005.

The prevalence of chief executives receiving stock awards (including long-term performance shares and units) increased from 72.2 percent in 2005 to 75.3 percent in 2006.

Other Compensation

The median value of other compensation for chief executives at S&P500 companies was $203,102 in 2006—a 9.5 percent increase over the median value of $185,458 reported in 2005. A large portion of this increase is explained by the SEC’s lowering of disclosure thresholds for benefits and perquisites in 2006.

To make comparisons between 2005 and 2006 most accurate, 2005 other compensation is calculated as the sum of the ‘other annual compensation’ and ‘all other compensation’ columns of the Summary Compensation Table.

Pension Benefits and Deferred Compensation

In 2006, the median value of accumulated pension benefits for S&P500 chief executives was $6,675,779, and the median deferred compensation plan balance was $3,741,573.

Among S&P 500 companies, 80.9 percent of chief executives currently have pension benefits and 85.1 percent have deferred compensation plans.

The median value for the ‘change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings’ reported in the Summary Compensation Table in 2006 was $937,000 for S&P500 chief executives.

Equilar Contact

Inquires should be directed to:

Alexander Cwirko-Godycki
Senior Analyst
Equilar, Inc.
(650) 286-4567
press@equilar.com

About Equilar

Based in San Mateo, California, Equilar is the market leader for benchmarking executive and board pay and offers an award-winning suite of Web-based tools for analyzing compensation and corporate governance trends. The company recently announced a strategic alliance with The NASDAQ Stock Market and helps its clients make informed decisions on board-level compensation matters with independent research and analysis. EquilarInsight, voted Top 10 Product of the Year by Human Resource Executive Magazine, allows users to accurately compare individual executive and director packages across companies using actual SEC data. Equilar’s clients include 19 of the 20 largest human capital firms, corporations, law firms, private equity investors and executives. Equilar's research has been featured on CNBC and in Bloomberg, Business Week, The Financial Times, Fortune, The New York Times, Reuters, Time, The Wall Street Journal and other leading media publications.