I know a bunch of execs at my firm, virtually all of them make over $200k base. Granted, getting their job is less about intelligence and more about connections. Truth is though, that the variable comp crushes the base comp so I wouldn’t focus too much on base. What would you rather have, $200k base with $50k bonus or $100k base with $500k bonus (typical for junior execs at my firm, Ive seen their payroll). The highest paid positions in finance do not have sky high base comps, they pay off P&L for a group/division/dept/unit/team. The reality is, the more revenue your unit contributes to the corp, the more negotiating room you have to demand more money for the people generating that rev, especially if the position requires networking/sales of any kind (most high end positions do). Fighting for variable comp will always be more profitable than fighting for base comps - assuming of course your unit is actually putting out the profit it says it is. And as far as having a bad year … well look at Wall St now; even when the IBers messed up bad and screwed up the country, they still got their bonuses.
My boss makes $1 million+ . Makes me look bad…
phBOOM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My boss makes $1 million+ . Makes me look bad… Base?
LPoulin133 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > phBOOM Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > My boss makes $1 million+ . Makes me look > bad… > > Base? Yes.
Jews make over 200k 
The highest confirmed base I know of is head of investor relations at my previous fund at $400,000. His bonus was pretty weak at $200,000 though. He definitely wasn’t the highest paid person in the firm so I assume there were others that had higher bases.